Infamy - 汚名
by Orokashii
Summary: Infamy - The state of being known for a bad quality and, or deed. Of course, I hadn't been born into it - shouldn't have been. Yet this is where I found myself years along the line in none other than Kushina Uzumaki's body. [Current cover by Nattouh on dA] [Kushina!OC]
1. Fictional World -架空の世界

**Infamy - ****汚名**

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><p><em><strong>1<strong>_

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><p>"Kushina!" I heard my mother yell and I swiveled around, looking suspiciously around myself before scuttling out of the scrolls room and rushing to find where she could be. It was of the utmost importance that she didn't see me in this room, being as I wasn't even allowed in the scrolls room, not until I was five at least. But curiosity had always been the thing eating at my conscious, making me do things I really shouldn't if I wanted to keep out of trouble. With my game face on, I found her in the kitchen, knife in hand as she chopped up vegetables.<p>

"Help me with the meal. Your father should be home in half an hour," she explained, giving a bright smile as she brushed my red hair away from my grime covered face. Despite my usual stiff front when I came to uninvited contact, I leaned into her palm slightly, nodding calmly enough as she gave one last pat, "Wash your hands," she ordered and after my doing so, she gestured to the cutting board, bestowing upon me the job of massacring the veggies. With an imaginary pull up of my imaginary pants, I grabbed my stool that stood off to the side, taking the knife in hand before cutting them with a mastered grace.

Most parents wouldn't let a four year old around knives or sharp objects in general. But incidentally, as I wasn't exactly in Kansas anymore, things were different around here. I had been helping with dinner for a while now, having graduated from just watching months ago. My parents had been proud of how easily I'd picked up on cooking but what they didn't know was that in my past life (yeah, don't ask), I had been a pretty decent chef. Still, I was done within minutes, despising how utterly troublesome chubby toddler hands could be before hopping off my stool, tray of cut up carrots and onions in hand as I maneuvered a snaking hand to tug at my mother's skirt, watching as she turned to face me. With a pleased grin, Satsuki quickly scooped up the veggies and deposited them into a boiling pot.

"Thank you, Kushina-chan," she said, ruffling my hair again before laughing gently, "Go wash up now. You've helped enough."

"'Kay," I hollered back, already on the move as I headed to the bathroom. Grabbing my other stool, I easily came to face my own reflection in the mirror, turning on the water at the sink as I washed my face and gave a quick wipe down of my hair. I would have to cut it soon, knowing it would only be easier to maintain if it was shorter. Twirling a lock of hair on my finger, I stared at the mirror longer, making faces to entertain. But those faces quickly morphed into a scowl as I tried to picture another face staring back. One with black hair and hazel eyes. A stubby nose. Were the…were the lips thin?

It was no use, I was forgetting that face even as everything else remained. The scowl remained on the pretty, albeit childish, chubby face. One that should definitely not be mine.

Because I knew.

I was highly aware of how wrong this situation was. I shouldn't have this body or face, I shouldn't have this name. I should be dead at best, an obliterated corpse who was done with life years ago. Instead, I woke up one day, trapped in a baby's body and truly terrified to find that I wasn't as dead as I had thought, as I should have been when I was pushed off of that tall ass building. Regardless, I was living a new life, one that was planned out before I even had a say in what went down.

Because I remembered.

I could recall everything from that life vividly, as if it had been burned there, as if it had become like a separate body part, ever present. Whatever I attempted to forget, to perish the thought, it only came back in the form of nightmares.

Of course, I didn't know I was in this cursed world at first. I didn't know the language even as I recognized my past mother's homeland tongue, nor could I make sense of it immediately. But when I was able to pick apart words as it came back to me, I came to know my new name, and my new parents as well. It couldn't have been a coincidence that my full name turned out to be Kushina Uzumaki. But I could still hope, knowing how stupid a possibility of being reborn into a manga was. That was just silly. Right?

That hope was crushed a couple of months later when I crawled into the scrolls room. It was a wonderment, as the place was _huge_ to a little baby me and the bookcases held so many things that I was immediately encouraged to get into them, discovering and reading what they were all about even as the language wouldn't even make sense to me (despite all my efforts to get them to teach me to read, they only ever wanted to teach me how to speak and walk). Still, I progressed and opened the ones that were closest to the ground, the world fading away as I grew engulfed in trying to figure out what the drawings and the Japanese meant. It was all hand written too, in a neat print that left little to question about.

I guess I was found like that, everything that I had gotten my hands on sprawled and littered all over the floor as I studied each page diligently, violet eyes focused. Then, suddenly, I was being lifted into the air and my mother, Satsuki, was crying, spouting out words rapidly, probably having been worried sick of my whereabouts. My father, Kushiro, was also there, taking in the scene mutely. He had opened his mouth, only to close it like a fish out in the open air. He had tried again and finally managed to bite out, "I don't suppose we can seal this room off, no?"

"Kushiro," my mother had mumbled out, clutching me closer to her body in anxiety, "not now."

When we had left the room, my body clutched desperately to Satsuki's, they left with the knowledge that I was safe. I left with the knowledge that, oh hey, I'm in the freaking Narutoverse.

Years along the line and up to today, I'd say that the curiosity I had felt that day hadn't ebbed in the slightest. In the present, I still snuck in there every now again and studied the scrolls that slowly got easier to comprehend as time went on.

"Kushina!" I heard from afar just as I was leaving the bathroom to see my father coming in, eyes sweeping around as he looked for me. Pleased to see him, I hopped forward and held my arms up with a cheerful grin. Despite Kushiro and Satsuki not being my first parents, they were probably better suited to parenting than the last pair so I played up the act as best I could for the family that I'd unknowingly infiltrated. Kushiro spotted me and with a grin of his own, he swooped me into his arms and tightly squeezed.

"Fun day at work, daddy?" I whispered with what was assuredly broken pronunciation.

"The funnest," he allowed, combing through my hair with his fingers and balancing me on his hip as he lead us back to the kitchen. Satsuki, my mother, smiled at us, a plate of freshly made onigiri in hand.

"Thought you might be hungry for a little pick-me-up before dinner is ready. You got home sooner than I had expected."

"I'm the luckiest man alive to have such a sweet and considerate wife," he chuckled with a broader grin, swiping an onigiri while promptly biting into it. He ended up getting a piece of rice stuck to my forehead but easily remedied that as he kissed it, setting me down moments later.

Not one to loiter around, I headed to the dining room table to sit down, feeling rather tired from my earlier work out. It was all Ichigo's fault. If it hadn't been for the main head's grandson seeing I was advanced for my age, I wouldn't have had to start working on my taijutsu until I was six. But this was a chance the Uzumaki clan was sore for. In the past twenty years none of the families had yet to produce someone of prodigal status to be trained by the clan head himself, in hopes that they'd be the successor. I'm sure they weren't looking for a female but I was the only four year old with enough drive to start learning complicated sealing techniques and they saw this as their chance. But really, all children of Uzumaki descent had a very high chance of being fuinjutsu masters at the age of twelve. Meaning it was quite literally a clan of prodigies that needed a further advanced one to lead us to safety and out of the dangers our sealing techniques had brought onto us as of late.

It was no wonder Uzushiogakure was being attacked by hidden villages out of seemingly nowhere. The Uzumaki clan were monsters in a way, being prone to geniuses and long life spans. We even had our own bloodline limit, chakra chains. It was a trait I was being pushed into, barely being taught how to form them now, despite that being a lesson for those the age of seven.

"The village is on lockdown, love," my father was whispering as they trailed in after me. Satsuki gasped before raising a hand to her lips. "It's nothing to worry about. They've just spotted some enemies. The clan head is setting up seals tonight that could keep them away until they grow bored."

"Keeping _us_ in," Satsuki replied with smartly, a scowl placed delicately on her soft features. She wasn't someone that was meant to frown, no. Her smiles were far too radiant for that.

"It's not like we want to leave Uzushio," Kushiro pacified her, taking the palm of her hand and pressing his lips down, smiling. At the private moment, I looked away and to the set table that I had been charged with preparing an hour before.

Satsuki just sighed, "I'll go check on the food."

Obviously troubled, Kushiro took a seat and I took the one closest to him, gazing up at him in quiet wonder. When my father just released a huff of air, I grew oddly encouraged to speak.

"Why don't we just fight them off?"

Kushiro studied me for a moment, eyes coming to squint at me quizzically, "Well, they fear our power. The elders think it's best if we show them that they have no reason to."

"Can't we play on that? Make them fear us so much they don't want to mess with us?" That's what Kumogakure did at least.

"When people are afraid..." Kushiro paused, as if looking for the hiding words, "they do unexpected things. Things we can't possibly account for when we have so many enemies. Besides, we have always been the fiercest of people, but a people who use their ability to protect. Not harm."

"What about Konoha?" I asked stubbornly, wondering why people were being so calm about being persecuted like this. If we were feared... Why would they bother us!? Wouldn't the point of things be that they stayed away as not to anger us? And why wouldn't our longtime ally, a hidden village so unlike ours in size and strength, help us?

"They are helping as best they can, my sweet," Kushiro reached over to brush back my hair, forcing a smile, "Don't worry about it too much."

"'Kay." It came out slightly bitter.

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><p><strong>Fictional World -<strong>**架空の世****界**

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><p>"Just focus," Jurata, the class teacher, said to me as sweat perspired on my brow. I panted but did as told, centering my thoughts solely on my chakra, willing the chains to take solid form. Jurata had been trying to get me to control where they sprouted ever since I'd been successful at forming them a couple of times. The only problem was that they would appear anywhere from the palm of my chubby hands to the small of my back. It was frustrating to say the least after I had been working on this task for around two weeks. Still no improvement.<p>

Maybe I should change my outlook? Let's see... The chains formed when I focused my emotions, but even then the only thing that came out were mere strings, soft looking, as they didn't look very formidable. I had been told that this would change in time as my chakra system grew larger and sturdier. Still, what actually allowed me to even get that far as a four year old? Biting my lip, I forced my chakra to obey, centering my emotions in one place; my heart. Astonishingly enough, little wispy orange chakra chains sprouted out, moving in the air with a dancer's grace. Smiling I looked up to Jurata, "I did it! Yatta, 'ttebane!"

"It was a fluke!" Kenma, a bratty boy in my class called out accusingly and I sent a scathing glare his way. Boy was just jealous that he's been in this class a whole three years and still could only get as far as I could.

"Retract and try again," Jurata ordered calmly, waving a hand in Kenma's direction to calm his shit. Determined to prove the eight year old's words otherwise, I sent my emotions, my chakra, scattering, promptly allowing my chains to disperse. Then, I gathered it all again, bringing it back with a small struggle before I came to succeed once again.

"In your face, brat!" I said with glee, smirking darkly in Kenma's direction. Jurata just sighed, patting me on the head with an exhausted smile.

"Good job, Kushina-chan."

I beamed at the praise and turned to Ichigo with a pleased smirk, "Did ya see? I got it down before you could, 'ttebane."

The redhead just rolled his pretty blue eyes before getting back to focusing on his leaf. It was a common practice technique as we used the leaf as a medium as a way to center and control our chakra. I had only used it briefly before discovering how truly easily chakra was to move around. What was hard, however, was getting it to take solid form. It could take anywhere from a minute to half for a child in training to form a chain once they knew how. I was one of the luckier kids in the bunch and had a pretty decent time stamp for a four year old in training. 37 seconds to be exact. With training, I could only get faster. Maybe I'd even grow to be as fast as the clan head! I had heard his time is as fast as half a second, so quick that the timer couldn't properly record it so they just guessed.

"Whatever," Kenma was obnoxiously saying, "you're only a stupid four year old so it doesn't matter. Your chains are so small and weak the only thing they can trap is a butterfly!"

My mind centered on one part of his little rant as I turned to Jurata, who frowned at the eight year old boy, "Ne, sensei! Can we go catch butterflies!?"

"Hmm, possibly if everyone agrees to. But how about we catch cicadas instead?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, 'ttebane!" I excitedly flitted around the room as I went to each of the kids in the tiny classroom, giving them my best puppy dog stare as I begged them to agree. Most complied, having already exhausted themselves from the strict training. The only one who stood as an obstacle, unsurprisingly, was the idiot Kenma.

"Ew, no," he had said as I brought it up again, minutes having passed since he'd first given me the idea, "Cicada's are gross."

With a pout I shifted my deflated gaze to Ichigo, who narrowed his eyes, "Ichigooooooooo..."

"No."

"Coooooome oooooon, Ichi-kun, do it." I pouted, looking up sadly yet had my brows raised in quiet hope. He had always been the weakest to my powers as a manipulator, even as obvious as the tricks were.

"Ugh, you owe me, Kushina-chan," Ichigo muttered before puffing out his chest and straightening his back, "Kenma! We're going to catch cicadas with the class or I'll tell dad you've been bullying a four year old girl."

Horrified, Kenma looked to his twin brother, "You'd betray me for her?"

Ichigo's gaze softened before he nodded, face reflected an emotion of regret and bravery, "I am but a fallen soldier made a pawn in her takeover of the world."

Just for effect, I gave a cackle, bringing my hands to my hips and lifted my lips into a dark smirk. Kenma's widened before he cried out, hopping forward to hug Ichigo tightly.

"I will never forget you, brother! I shall defeat this evil woman if it's the last thing I do!"

"Why beat us?" I asked smartly, "If you could join us?"

"That's right, brother, join me in our takeover of the world!" Ichigo powerfully suggested as lifted his arms in emphasis.

"O-okay! I'll do it for you! I'll catch cicadas for you!"

"Excellent! Minions!" I shouted in the classroom and ten faces, including Jurata, stared expectantly, "Today we fight our first battle for world domination against the fierce monsters known as the cicadas! May their annoying buzzing cease!"

"Yeah!" Cheers erupted as Jurata helplessly smiled down at our antics. Pumped up, the eleven of us left the classroom and headed to the surrounding forests.

It might have just been them amusing a four year old child but in all actuality, it was the bonds of an Uzumaki. Together, we all practiced forming our chains, some messing up and others achieving victory but still, the takeover of the world was actually looking pretty good so far as an hour went by. In fact, I'm sure we'd caught around sixty cicadas before Ichigo challenged everyone to an individual match.

"You're so on," I said to him, grinning superiorly at him, hands on my hips as I concentrated my emotions near my chest. As it turns out, I could entirely control that whole emotion thing. It was pretty hard to mentally move your emotions to a specific body part but the heart was easy.

"Be prepared to lose then," Ichigo said, blue eyes light with humor.

"Yeah!" Kenma chimed in with, "He's no longer stuck under your stupid spell."

"That only makes the competition that much more entertaining," I replied with before speeding off into the forest, chains ready to capture. Kenma followed close after, eyes narrowed as he kept a strict eye on me. It would be kind of cute if he wasn't so annoying.

"You can't control my brother anymore!" He shouted, tiny wisps of purple chains fluttering about him. I always liked how the colors of the chains reflected the user's personality. My father's chains were a pretty red, expressing a romantic mind and passionate emotions. My mother had yellow ones, the color that expressed a calm, loving, _kind_ person. Mine, mirroring the actual Kushina's, were orange, as if to balance between the two colors.

"I wouldn't want to control that stupid butthead," I replied with childishly, sticking my tongue out.

"Hey!" Ichigo's voice called from a little bit away, "The betrayal stings!" If there was one thing I liked about Ichigo was his willingness to go along with childish antics. He was also a great actor, so that was a plus.

"It didn't have to be this way!" I called back to him, my voice high pitched and thin, "It could have been different!"

"What did we do wrong?"

"What is even happening!? What are you guys going on about?" Kenma's eyes were wide when he said this, almost in that 'deer caught in the headlights' look. I shrugged in his direction before hopping forward on my toes and leaping toward the nearest tree. After having climbed up the tree, I scanned my surroundings for cicadas, my ears tuned for their buzzing.

"I'm going to beat you if it's the last thing I do!" Kenma suddenly announced, climbing up a different tree, chains poised to attack. I openly laughed, just as I latched onto a buzzing cicada, placing the big guy into the wooden containers that Jurata-sensei had passed out. _This is just temporary_, I thought to the bug, imagining how scary it would be to be stuck in there. With that, I continued to jump around, collecting every cicada I came into contact with.

Distantly I could hear Kenma's grunts and inwardly laughed. It was actually super fun, getting to compete like this and in the end, I even lost to Ichigo, who got a whopping thirty-four cicadas in his box after I stopped at fifteen (I didn't want the bugs to be too squished). Kenma got a surprising amount of fourteen, just barely losing to me. But he did win the reward of his older twin's praise.

"See, he likes me more than you," Kenma had been saying as we packed up to head home, all the cicadas having been released back into their homes. I shrugged.

"You guys _are_ brothers. Even outside friendship could never get in the way of that," I told him, voice matter of fact as I stood ready to leave.

"That's right," Ichigo announced, smiling warmly at his brother as he brought an arm over Kenma's shoulder, "You're my brother for life. Friendships die and fade, but blood is forever."

Kenma grinned, "That's right!"

It would be great if it finally stuck in his head and this type of argument didn't occur weekly. Kenma was pretty adorable, if I was being honest, but he was just so overtly negative about me that is tended to get a bit old.

I heaved a sigh, "Now that it's settled, let's head to Mika-san's." Mika was one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure in either life. She was the one that always willingly gave us treats on our way home. She was someone who could always see through me, knowing whenever I probably needed more sweets to eat than the boys. It didn't hurt that Mika's treats were always so delicious, better than even my mother's.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed with me as the three of us headed to her house.

Mika lived close to all three of us, on the northern part of the shopping district. Her shop was probably one of the older ones in the place, having been passed down for generations, especially since the start of the village. Even today it was a popular place to visit and was always very busy. Yet Mika always had time to spare. She was actually directly related to me, being that she was my mother's aunt.

We arrived at her shop earlier than usual, and I quickly scuttled up to the wooden counter, eyes big as I met the gaze of Arisa, Mika's daughter. The pretty redhead smiled, her gold eyes crinkling just a tiny bit as she gave us a bright smile. Arisa was sixteen, and although she was still fighting her parents about leaving the village to travel, it was if everything was normal in the world when she would smile. It wasn't surprising to know that she was the village beauty.

"Hello, Arisa-san," I told her politely as I reached a hand up to pat her hand. It was an odd habit I randomly picked up while meeting new people. If I liked someone I had to touch their hand, as if to confirm they were real. Which wasn't entirely irrational if you thought about it. I mean, I _did_ live in a fictional world. My own fictional world, perhaps.

"Hello, Kushina-chan," Arisa murmured as she patted my head, her smile growing.

"We're here to!" Kenma said, hopping forward ecstatically, looked at Arisa with adoring eyes. The kid liked anything that fed him, I swear, as he tended to even like my mother. Or it could, I don't know, be that it was due to him not having an actual mom. My aunt had died after giving birth to the twins, despite how rare it was for an Uzumaki to die during childbirth. Stubborn wills went a long way with things but then I had been told that my aunt had always had a weak one.

But that was depressing to think about so I asked, "Where's Mika-san?"

Arisa pointed to the back doors, an unknown land to mostly everyone. The three of us were special enough that we had actually been back there in the work space only a couple times. Secret recipes lay behind that door.

"Can I go get her?" I asked innocently, even if I felt my ulterior motives showing.

"No way!" Kenma whined, "You're not allowed back there anymore than we are."

Arisa gave a laugh, "Actually, Ma-kun, Kushina-chan _is_ allowed. She helped mom with that recipe for those treats called cake, you guys are so fond of."

"Really?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide in disbelief, "I wouldn't have pegged her for helping with _that_."

"That's because she screws up most things," Kenma said, looking a little green, "I can't believe you helped with those things."

I rolled my eyes, "Kenma, I only ever wrote the directions. I've never baked anything in my life. I'd probably make charcoal if I tried." Actually, I had, with Satsuki, but it was nice to joke.

"That makes sense. I guess you are kind of smart."

I grinned devilishly, "Oh how I wished I had that recorded."

"Rec-recorded?" He asked, mouth forming around the foreign word. I easily waved it off as I headed to the back of the shop, the doors swinging after me as I called out for Mika.

"Over here!" Mika replied with and I saw her a little bit away, dark, blood red hair tied up in a tight ponytail. She had long hair, unlike my mother, but the same soft features and shocking violet eyes. She turned to me with a smile, holding up flour covered hands. I didn't care much about the mess as I went in to wrap my arms around her legs. I couldn't wait until I was older and could actually hug her. Her hands went to touch my hair and with a graceful laugh she said, "I may have gotten a mess in your hair."

I grinned up at her, "I don't mind."

"Oh you don't, do you?" She poked my nose and I could already feel the flour coating it.

"Yup," I replied with as I let out a childish laugh.

"Was today a good day?" Mika asked and I nodded, ecstatically bouncing as I unwrapped my arms to give emphasis on my story.

"We caught a _whole_ bunch of cicadas. And then set them free because it's bad to harm things. That's what I think at least. Ichi-kun and Ma-kun didn't seem to think so but I think harm should only be done when necessary, right? Do you agree with me?" I stared up at her curiously and with a laugh, Mika lifted me up, balancing my small frame on her hip as we headed back out to the others.

"I do agree with you, Kushina-chan. Boys are just mean that way, aren't they? They're all brute and no thought."

I wasn't the type to believe in gender rules but in this case, it was mostly true. Ichigo and Kenma were usually more about fighting than thinking things out. Ichigo was less of an offender but Kenma never seemed to have any moral dilemmas. But then, that might have been from the conditioning they put us through, even at young ages. I nodded in reply.

"Hello Mika-san," Ichigo and Kenma chorused the moment they saw her.

"Good afternoon, boys. What type of treat do you want for today? Yesterday Kushina here made a new _excellent_ recipe for these things called Twinkies. It's an odd name but cute."

I tried not to laugh at Mika's pronunciation and settled with grinning.

Kenma's eyes narrowed at me and I growled. He was such a little prick and most days I kind of wished he would just realize there was no battle to fight with me. Although, it might have been my fault that he thought that way.

See, my friendship with Ichigo started unlike many others. As he is my cousin, his mother being my aunt, Kenma and he came by my house often when my mother was the only one available to look after the youngins. As I was just a baby, they never spent much time with me personally. That is until my mother bragged about me being smart enough to already read, when I was like, one. This caught their attention, specifically Ichigo's as he was fascinated with children. Out of the two of them, he played with me the most. And I guess, Kenma, being a tiny, still maturing toddler, did not take to the idea of sharing his brother well.

"Just cookies," Kenma said bitterly, frown evident on his face, lips upturned as he looked at anywhere but me. I told myself that I didn't care that he didn't like me because I didn't care about him but that was really just a lie. I actually liked the Kenma that interacted with Ichigo; he was cute. Thus it was kind of a pain for him to act so vehemently negative about me.

Before my frown could show, I grinned, pointing to the floor to be let down. Mika easily complied and as soon as my feet were touching, I shouted, "One of everything, please!"

Mika eyed me doubtfully, "I'll just get you the same as usual then."

"Please do," Ichigo told her, eyes on me as he said it, "I'm not a fan of a hyper Kushina."

"Yeah," Kenma agreed, "She's even more annoying than usual."

I shrugged. It was kind of true.

"I'll get you the same then, Ichi-chan." Mika was the only one who could call him that and get away with it. Even I hadn't tried. Because Ichigo was kind of known to be peculiar about the way each person treated him.

He smiled and nodded.

There was still a lot I didn't know about what went on when I had yet to be born but apparently there had been an incident with ninja's from a hidden village far away from here. Apparently Ichigo had been kidnapped, supposedly because he was the clan head's grandson (I wasn't too clear on details), and in the end Mika had been the one to save him. Ever since then Ichigo expressed complete adoration for the older woman, even as she dropped out of Uzushio's ranks as an active kunoichi.

With that, our orders were made and given and not much longer after that, the three of us were kicked out and ordered to go home. On the way there, we were pretty quiet, munching on our snacks in thought. The sun was still brightly shining and not a cloud graced the sky. Even the wind had taken a pause in its usual torment with our tiny village. I found myself grinning. In my past life I hadn't gone out, perpetually frightened over the simplest things but in this world, I was content just to walk safely in town with my cousins. I wondered how I had become so differently, once crippled with intense anxiety, being an introvert, and now I was showing all the signs of being an extrovert.

"I think we're going to have to leave soon," Ichigo suddenly came out with and all three of us paused. My smile fell away. I knew instinctively why he was saying this but I still asked.

"Why do you say that?"

"I overheard dad talking with our grandfather," he murmured, eyes dark, "Apparently the attacks have been getting too frequent."

"What about Konoha?" I asked, frowning, "They're our allies, 'ttebane! They should be helping considering we share so much of our fuinjutsu with them."

"I don't know," Ichigo rubbed the bridge of his nose, "But apparently the enemy is getting closer to the village and dad mentioned the clan moving to Konohagakure until everything was clear."

"What, 'ttedate!?" Kenma burst out with and I felt similarly. Anybody who grew up on the island, save for a few exceptions, loved it unconditionally. It was our home, our treasure. This sun lighted island, with its overabundance of wildlife and greens, was _ours_. It was a feeling of ownership that ran deep within all Uzumaki, even an interloper such as I.

"I feel the same, Ken," Ichigo murmured, "But if it keeps us safe, maybe we can come back in a couple-."

"But we're strong, right? We can take them, can't we?" Kenma said, tone insistent.

"I don't know," Ichigo murmured, eyes dark and hopeless.

I didn't say a word, but that sinking feeling that my happy days were limited kept a grim, tight hold on me.

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><p><strong>Fictional World -<strong>**架空の世****界 ****- End**

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><p><strong>Edited: 1213/14**

S**ome things to keep in mind** if you plan to continue on:

1) This story is planned to be drastically AU, it won't be so much at first but I'm building up to that. Another thing I'm building up is character development, Kushina may be doing questionable things but know that I have plans for her, so I ask that you be patient.

2) I'm writing this for myself as therapy so if you find something you don't like, please just go to a new story. This is merely posted for like-minded individuals.

3) Despite my efforts to do the opposite, I don't take criticism well (I'm flawed and shouldn't be anywhere near the internet, it seems). So please say things nicely, because I do need to hear what's wrong, and _why_ it's wrong.

4) On my page, you can find the timeline I'm using for this story and my second SI, Monopoly.

5) I don't _really_ consider this an SI, being as Kushina is largely opposite me but with her knowing a future, this _does_ have the conventions of one.

6) I'm editing the first ten chapters before posting a new one, but know that if your reading this after the eleventh had been posted, that I don't usually edit my work, so I am looking for an editor, jusr anyone wants to take on the job but has decent grammar.

Anyway, whatever you decide to do, have a pleasant day!


	2. Whisper - 囁き

**Infamy - ****汚名**

_**2**_

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><p>"<em><strong>One whisper, added to a thousand others, becomes a roar of discontent"<strong>_

― _**Julie Garwood**_

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><p>"Kenma!" I shouted, voice full of excitement as I ducked under waving arms. He growled, to which I answered with an evil cackle.<p>

"Get back here Kushina!" He cried, chasing after me as I gained speed, inspired.

"Only if you admit you like Habanero peppers!" I replied with, grinning like the Cheshire cat with evil mirth.

"Ugh! No way! How could you even do that to me, evil woman!"

"I'm a woman?" I asked, laughing, "I didn't know you looked at me as such!" I spared a second to glance back and gaze at his face. Just as I thought, his face went bright red. Kenma was such an easy tease!

"Shut up! I wanted to enjoy Mika's cake!"

"Sorry!"

"Really?" His voice sounded as if he'd been stunned, not having expected an apology.

"No. This is pay back for what you did to me in class!" I chortled once more, and shot forward with speed as a burst of adrenaline spurred me on. Before long, we were in the village's most crowded and lively district. The Tanto District, named for it being one of the more dangerous areas, and for the abundance of weapons. Uzushiogakure ninja were the type to need frequent replacements due to the undoubted experimenting that went on with coming up with interesting, flashy offensive jutsus. Blacksmiths, certainly, were quite prosperous. So much so that this distract also contained the highest population of people from different villages. Outsiders, most would call them.

It was kind of the perfect place for what occurred next.

One second I was zigzagging, using my natural agility and flexibility to dodge and avoid big angry, off-kilter men, and the next second, I had run into probably one of the hardest bodies I had ever had the (dis)pleasure to meet. I bounced back, a stuttered apology on my lips as I took a look at the man before me. He was squinting at me, with lilac, pupil-less, Hyuuga like eyes. I stepped back, suddenly nervous. He said nothing for a moment, keeping me ruthlessly in his eyes. Yet just as he opened his mouth to say something, Kenma rushed forward, grasping at my sleeves as he shouted, "Kushina!"

"Kenma?" I asked, dazedly, still slightly starstruck. This man was of the Hyuuga main family branch, if the lack of a hitai ate placed on my his forehead was of any indication (instead, it was placed around his neck). More so than that, he held a regal quality, even with his lack of long hair. It was nearly startling that he had such short hair, that was sort of the trade mark that the people of his clan tended to have. I was probably staring a bit too hard, however, as suddenly Kenma had his hand on my head, forcing me to comply to a bow.

"Sorry for the trouble, sir, we'll be leaving now."

"Hn." It was the man's only reply.

"Kushina," Kenma chided as we walked away from the Tanto District, "what were you thinking?"

"You know," I said, getting the feeling I was being nagged, "You're sort of starting to act like Ichigo."

"Really?" Kenma perked up and I gave him a careful glance.

"Yes."

The gullible boy became flushed by what he took as praise. And I guess it sort of was.

"Who was that guy anyway?" Kenma asked, changing the subject. Probably from the sheer embarrassment of being complimented by his worst enemy.

"I don't really know," I replied, shrugging my shoulders and I gave an interested glance toward Kenma, "You know, my mom was going to teach me some of the family seals today when I get home. Or at least how to draw them."

The little boy stared at me, as if a little perplexed, "Why are you telling me that?"

I shrugged, "Well, I happen to know that drawing is your favorite part of the whole process."

He was still hesitant, "Are you inviting me over to your house?"

"Yeah, actually," I mumbled, looking at him expectantly. For the longest time, I had known about his love for art, and something about his annoying personality reminded me a little of my past life's sister. As I thought back on all of our past interactions I suddenly came to realize something. Kenma had been missing out on his hobby for a while now. He was already proficient, above even most chuunin level Uzumaki seal masters in the way he was able to create nearly perfect seals on the first try. Because of that, he had been advised to focus more on his weaker areas in his training, chakra control. No wonder he was so annoyed with me. Chakra control came very easily to me.

"Alright," Kenma said softly, eyes wide with surprise. Then his pose suddenly shifted, "This isn't a joke on me, right?"

My brows shot up in surprise, "You must think me low, but I wouldn't do that to a friend."

"F-friend...?" He asked, face flushed beet red before he let out an exclamation, "You haven't won the war! I won't be fooled by your pretty words!"

For a moment I was too stunned to reply but then suddenly I found myself clutching the sides of my stomach, trying to contain my laughter.

"This isn't funny," Kenma whined as he stood awkwardly to the side.

"Oh, Kenma! You're a hoot!" I bit out in between cackles, "Don't ever change please!"

"Tch, you've gone insane," Kenma muttered, then pushed into my right shoulder, "Well then, let's get going to your house, we don't have all day to learn seals."

"Un!" I cheered, still fighting back the occasional giggle as we both headed to my home.

As soon as we got there, I didn't waste anytime slamming open the front door and yelling out, "I'm home, Mom! I brought Kenma!"

As soon as the words were out, Satsuki appeared with a pleasant smile on her face, only for it to grow bigger just as she laid eyes on the boy, "You've grown!"

Kenma flushed, but nodded nonetheless, "I eat a lot."

"I bet you do!" Satsuki nodded in understanding, "Kushina-chan is the same way, Kenma-kun. She eats even more than I do!"

"Kaaa-san," I bit out, lips puffed out in a pout, "It's not my fault you're such a good chef."

Satsuki gazed at me suspiciously, "You get that excuse from your father, don't you? Always with the false compliments."

I puffed out my cheeks, "I'm no liar! Ne, Kenma, you should stay for dinner and prove me right," I offered, glancing at the blue eyed boy in surprise as I noticed he was smiling. Actually smiling. This stubborn, usually whining boy was smiling. Strangely enough, his smile was contagious and I grinned at him broadly, "He's staying for dinner, Mom! So what seals are you going to teach us?"

Satsuki merrily laughed and beckoned the two of us bratty kids with a waggle of her fingers as she lead us to the scrolls room. I took this as my chance to inhale the scent of the aged scrolls and let out a mischievous laugh.

"Our family has the second most scrolls in the village," I bragged and Kenma just shrugged.

"Ours has the most," Kenma replied with, a confident grin on his face.

"Well you're related to the clan head. I claim it's nepotism!"

Kenma gazed at me curiously, "Wouldn't it be nepotism for your own family too? I mean, we both are related to him. He's our grandparent."

I frowned, "I mean, I guess by blood. But he's never taken an interest in me aside from getting me to train earlier than most kids. Besides, these scrolls were earned by Dad's collecting habits."

"Alright!" Satsuki cut in cheerfully, but due to me having lived with her for so long, I could recognize when she was hiding something. Her nose scrunched up a little in thought and her eyes were pinched. I wondered, vaguely, what caused her to be so upset when it came to her father. I guess they just didn't have a very good relationship.

"Mom?" I asked curiously and Satsuki just smiled.

"I'll be teaching you how to draw a memory seal."

"Memory seal?" Kenma and I chorused with curiosity.

"It's a well known seal in our family," my mother explained, "It's just to help with all the information we have to retain as seals masters. It doesn't actually seal any memories within, however," Satsuki looked slightly sad as she said her next words, "The seal that _does_ do that should be taboo." I was going to ask why but as soon as I opened my mouth, Satsuki went on, "What this seal _does_ do, is help our brains with developing excellent retention skills. It's only a temporary boost, however, as paper isn't lasting."

"Then what about a flesh seal?" I asked and Satsuki's face grew worried.

"I absolutely prohibit you ever learning flesh seals," My mother said, voice stern and unrelenting, "And I advise you, Kenma, to never take an interest in them."

This confused me immensely. Didn't she have flesh seals? I could distinctly recall bathing with her and seeing all sorts of things on her back and arms. If they were so bad, why did she have so many? What I knew of flesh seals was that they lasted forever and they were usually showcased to be our most dangerous weapon. With flesh seals, we could do permanent damage, and the offensive possibilities were endless. But then, what of the seals that were made in consideration of binding the Kyuubi and the other tailed beasts? I asked.

"Wait, what about the seals that put the big monsters into the people like in the bedtime stories?" I kept my tone childishly innocent, "Aren't those flesh seals?"

Satsuki sighed, "They aren't considered as such. They weren't designed to be permanent as all other flesh seals are. Those seals are just simply called binding seals."

"Will we learn the binding seals?" I asked, really hoping that would be the case. If I couldn't learn the coolnes of what looked like tattoos, then I could at least learn something actually useful to me.

"Yes," Satsuki grumbled, before turning to the shelves of scrolls and picking up two scrolls as well as ink, papers, and brushes. She opened one scroll and the three of us sat down, as Kenma and I waited expectantly. My mother cleared her throat as she laid out the scroll, "This scroll is for motivation, Kushina-chan. This is something I'm sure you'll be very interested in. I'll give you a hint as to why: It deals with summoning."

I jumped up, jaw slack and eyes wide, "Really!?"

Satsuki looked to be in a mixture of relief and amusement, as she laughed, "Yes. But first you have to master this seal. Today you'll be learning how to draw it, and about the basic structure of the seal, and of most seals. And then, I'll be teaching you how to actually use the seal." She grinned as I bounced with excitement, "You're welcome to invite Ichigo as well, Kenma-kun."

Kenma smiled and nodded, "I will."

"Now, let's get started."

Satsuki kept us busy for the rest of the time, and left midway in our lesson once we both just had to practice drawing it on our own. I can't say I did as well as Kenma, making me wonder why I had invited him knowing it would be this way in the first place. He was able to completely draw it within the hour Satsuki left to prepare dinner. I was a little bit slow in comparison, as I could only draw half of it as good as it was supposed to be. My calligraphy wasn't bad, but I just couldn't match up to the genius in front of me.

Later in the night, our dinner was rather noisy and silly, as Kenma and I refused to back down in our banter but my parents put up with it, with happy, amused grins. Kenma left with flushed cheeks and a promise for Ichigo to join us tomorrow.

It was only when I laid in bed that night that I thought of that Hyuuga man once more and marveled over his short hair. Maybe someone had chopped it off in his sleep? At the thought of a pride man waking up to something that should have been impossible, the look of surprise, followed by anger. It was pretty comedic.

Little did I know that that prideful man would be the one who changed everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き**

* * *

><p>"Hello, sir," I mumbled awkwardly, bowing in a greeting as my eyes skidded to the Hyuuga from before as he stood in the corner of the room. I probably should have been focusing more on the clan head. As it was, this was my first time ever meeting him face to face. He had always just been Kenma and Ichigo's grandpa, and the man who stood in front of crowds and spoke powerful words.<p>

"Hello," the man grumbled and it was at this time that I realized I had never really retained what his name was. So much for being polite.

"May I ask what I've been summoned for?" I asked cautiously. Something was wrong here, very wrong and I could feel it in the there. It was so tangible that I almost felt I was breathing it in.

"Kushina-chan, it seems you are, as it turns out, what we've been looking for."

"Looking...for?"

"Have you ever heard of Mito Uzumaki?"

I flushed. Boy, did I ever. I was raised, more like brainwashed, into believing she was close to royalty, a queen in her own right. Everyone knew who Mito was. Everyone. And it didn't seems to matter that she was the container to such a dangerous entity. And then there was the added fact that Kushina had an such an important relationship with the woman.

I nodded, "But what does that have to do with me?" A sinking feeling started in my chest and fell to my stomach as realization struck me. This happened to Kushina too. This is how she got to Konoha in the first place, for her special chakra. But why on Earrth had I pushed that tidbit aside? Pretending as if my memories were a joke, and Naruto would never be born. Of course I had pushed it off. What an odd thing to keep focus on the fact that I would give birth to the chosen one. It was in this moment that I realized, like ice cold water splashed onto my face, that I hadn't accepted everything like I had thought I'd done. Instead, I had felt as if this was still just a hazy dream. A paradise. As if I had been in heaven. I felt my hands shaking, a mountainous pressure creeping slowly to rest on my shoulders. My vision grew blurry as I tried to listen to the clan head.

He cleared his throat, "Your chakra is special and largely compatible with what we have in mind for you."

"What for?" I asked, my voice surprisingly faint, and light.

"For you to become a Jinchuuriki," the clan head replied with, almost coldly.

And I knew. There was no getting out of fate.

* * *

><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き**

* * *

><p>As it turned out, that Hyuuga man <em>was<em> apart of the main family. A natural sensor matched with the Byakugan, he was able to spot a mile away what my chakra type was. It sort of explained why he stared at me so weirdly. He, most certainly, was the man that sealed my fate. His name was Hakuba Hyuuga, and he was the clan head, the father to two twin boys. He, apparently, had been here to assist with our defense, meeting with some of our sensors to give them some tips or whatever, and had seen me in that cursed Tanto District.

"Why are you frowning so much?" Ichigo asked, brows raised in question as the three of us practiced drawing the memory seal.

"Your stupid Jii-san!" I bit out rather vehemently, "And stupid, stick-up-the-butt Hyuuga," I muttered as I faded into an intelligible grumble.

"What did he do?" Ichigo looked rather conflicted but I couldn't fathom why.

"He's carting me off at the end of this stupid month. That's what he's stupidly doing! Stupid,stupid,stupid..."

"Isn't it an honor?" My friend asked, voice sounding surprised, "You _are _going to be working with Mito-sama on something very important, aren't you?"

"Is that what the clan head told you?" I asked, feeling absolutely livid with his excuses. Something important, my ass. Working on something? He made it sound as if I was coming back. As if. As, fucking, if. To the best of my knowledge, Kushina had left and never came back because her entire clan had been destroyed. I froze. That meant the village... The thought was too scary to even think. I whimpered, suddenly feeling very lost.

"Is there any other way to describe it?" He asked, eyes too focused on his task to see my sudden change in posture and I sighed, making sure to keep my feelings in check. I'd learned from my last life that taking it out on friends was often more detrimental than beneficial, even as obvious as it should have been.

"Yeah," I muttered out as my strokes suddenly got very well practiced. I found myself completing the seal for the first time since I'd started practicing. Before Ichigo could nag as usual in his older brother 'I'm-just-looking-after-you' way, I jumped up. "Yatta! I did it, 'ttebane!"

"Good for you," Ichigo mumbled as he looked down at his clumsy strokes. Kenma stole all the artistic genes, I suppose.

"I've just been practicing longer than you," I said to cheer him up, although none of my failures had looked that bad. Possibly because Satsuki turned sadistic when she taught me calligraphy and the Uzumaki shorthand.

"Yeah!" Kenma agreed, looking over from his spot as he actually practiced with his chakra to make the seal was where he has a hard time, so he was just as frustrated as Ichigo was. With a light bulb moment, I realized I needed to do something to cheer them up. Sighing, I moved a little bit away from them and started to dance. It was probably what I was the worst at. My mother had always wanted a daughter that she could teach her families traditional dances too, but after the numerous failures and my inability to improve, my mother had to accept that I was never going to excel in the area of dancing. Since then, I learned mostly the boy developed style of fighting style and had never looked back on the atrocity I had been as a dancer. Until now.

After a few moments, I could see the two of them looking slack jawed at me as I hopped awkwardly around, looking similar to a chicken with its head cut off. Then the two boys started to laugh.

"Kushina, you really have gone crazy!" Kenma exclaimed, pointing at me with one hand clutched to his stomach.

"I agree with Kenma for once. What are you doing?" Ichigo asked between fits of laughter and cackling evilly over my embarrassment.

With my face flushed bright red over something I had vowed to never show to anyone, I scuttled over to grab a scroll as I covered my face, "I was trying to show you," I mumbled, "that we aren't supposed to be innately good at things. To learn and grow, the journey, isn't that the fun part of everything? That moment we actually succeed, isn't that moment priceless? I happen to like that feeling a whole lot more than just naturally being good at things. The Uzumaki... We're supposed to be the ones who enjoy a challenge, right? So...don't give up."

There was a soft moment of silence, as I hid my brightly colored face away from their prying eyes. Then, I heard the two boys get up, and I watched as their feet came closer to me. Without a word, the two boys took the scroll away from me as they smiled, brilliantly. Kenma was more so reluctant than his brother, a blush of his own covering his face but his lips were curved just as much.

"Thank you, Kushina," Ichigo said, "For showing us something very wonderful."

Kenma snorted, and just like that the three of us were laughing uncontrollably, clutching our stomachs and hanging onto each other for support. My bad mood forgotten, we were found like that by my mother as she called us to dinner, observing curiously as she watched us try to gather our breath.

"What's so funny?"

At that, we all chortled.

"I suck at making seals," Ichigo tried to explain before taken by the laughter again.

"I suck at chakra control," Kenma added on, having to lean onto Ichigo for support, which Ichigo lacked himself as the two of them crash to the floor in a fit of laughter.

"I showed them my dancing!" I cheered as I merrily jumped into the dog pile. Satsuki's face went white.

"I thought you promised to never show anybody your p-pretty dancing."

The three of us quieted as we let her words sink in. It was quiet, oddly, comfortably quiet, but Satsuki ruined it by her sudden laugh. Which ensued another round of gut wrenching cackles.

To me, it felt rather bittersweet, knowing that in only a month's time I would be in Konoha, and my home would be in ruins.

* * *

><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き**

* * *

><p>The whispers of moving away from our little island only grew to be more incessant as time grew on, the rumors escalating as we all wondered what on Earth had gone so wrong that some of us were already leaving the village. It seemed as if the village was split, like Kenma and Ichigo. One believed we could beat the enemy, (we <em>were<em> fuinjutsu masters and thus, tricky to beat) yet the other side believed we should move, leave to Konoha and come back once the problem was gone. It was clear what Konoha wanted to have done, what with the way they brought in representatives discussing how _nice_ and beautiful it was there. Some bought into it and were already packing their bags. Others? Not so much. Some had even taken to sealing their houses with protective ones, and using fortifying seals to make sure their house could last if matters got worse. Even my father had done that, secretly, to our house.

As tensions grew and the whispers grew into a raucous roar (at least they did in the meetings my father attended) my mother grew more worried, frantic even. It showed when I would wake up in the middle of the night for a glass of water, only to witness her shoving items into a knapsack. She would stare at it for a few moments before taking everything back out and laying it on the table. All the things were either weapons or scrolls.

Satsuki wanted to choose the option of flight, and it made since. As my father had said to me in one of our passing conversations, Satsuki wanted to raise me up in a different village for reasons I couldn't fathom but had ended up staying for my stubborn father.

Kushiro was different. He wanted to fight back with everything we had, show they entire world that Uzushiogakure had nothing to hide, and no possible weakness. We were strong, and one united front as family served as the most important thing on our tiny island. He took everyone's divided views very badly, and even struggled with Satsuki's desire to leave.

Surprisingly enough (in my whole entire life I had never heard them disagree), I could now wake up to hear the both of them arguing, wondering what was best for our tiny trio. Our family.

School remained the same, however, and there was no visible rush in the students being taught. It almost felt as if in the moment we entered those doors or left, it was a world of worry, of murmurs and paranoia outside. For the time spent in school it was almost like a little paradise, filled with simple games and competitions. Kenma was still a punk after all and I was more desperate than ever for a distraction. Ichigo became kind of reclusive, however, withdrawn. When Kenma and I would start up a game, he would just wave his hand and sit off to the side with his leaf. It was almost as if he were trying to master chakra control, so that he could have the chance to fight too.

It was safe to say that I was worried. That nervous feeling in my gut told me something _very_ bad was going to happen. And _that_ was a no-brainer. I mean, I knew things. I could recall things from my past life. I knew things that related to the future of this world but, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what I could do to fix this mess. Because I didn't know what caused it.

I made excuses, instead. I told myself that I was still too young in the eyes of the public for anyone to listen to me. I lied and told myself this was all just a dream, that or that other life was. I told myself I had nothing to worry about.

But that wasn't the case at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き**

* * *

><p>"Happy birthday, Kushina," my mother said, just as Mika brought the cake out. I stared, dumbfounded by the beauty of it, even if it was elegantly simple. It just a white cake after all, save for a tiny red flower in the middle of it. But it was the most impressive sight my eyes had laid on in a long while. My shoulders felt heavy with emotion that could only be described as gratitude.<p>

"It's not a Habanero pepper," I murmured quietly, grinning at my private joke. To the others confusion, I just shook my head as I stood up to give Mika a hug, "Thank you, Mika-san."

"No problem, Ku-chan," Mika replied, winking. Her new pet name for me was recent and it never failed to make me flush. It just sounded rather cute and I wasn't used to being 'cute'. Mika merely grinned at my reaction.

"Happy birthday," Ichigo told me, bringing a hand forward to pat my head. His eyes were still dark and lost, but today, if I weren't just being optimistic, he was looking happier, more so than anything else.

"Thank you, Ichi-kun," I grinned brightly at him, as I enveloped him in a hug. In my past life, I wouldn't have ever done that. I was much too shy and reclusive. Yet, whether it was the Uzumaki genes or the fact I was in a child's body, I was the 'free-hugs' type of person most of the time in this world. Ichigo laughed, not minding it at all as I separated from him and turned to the cake, ready to blow out the candles. Just as I did, there were claps and laughter and I jumped with anticipation as Satsuki took out the candles and picked up the knife to start cutting the cake, "Give me this biggest-est piece, Kaa-san," I demanded and with an amused chuckle, she nodded.

"Yes, Kushina-hime."

I flushed happily as I realized that Satsuki was determined for this to be a good day. Ever since Kushiro and her had gone to meet the clan head, she'd been very quiet and reclusive, thoughtful. It had been very disappointing when I finally showed her my finished product of a working memory seal and she had just wordlessly handed me the summoning scroll, no explanation whatsoever on how to use it, or learn from it. It was written in the Uzumaki shorthand but it was far too hard of a scroll. It was more like a scroll for a chuunin or tokubetsu jounin. Not for an Academy student. Was it perhaps, a long term goal for me? That made the most sense, but I was still kind of disappointed.

"Kushina-hime!" Kenma cheered, having warmed up to me immensely, as he jumped forward to bump into my shoulder. I bumped back harder. We still argued but it was more like siblings fighting, if I was honest.

"Shut it," I said smugly, "or you get no cake."

Kenma mimed zipping up his lips and throwing away the key as Satsuki delivered my piece of cake to me. It was one of those time I wish I could recall how to make ice cream. Cake and ice cream were the best together. Oh well, it'd come back to me one day.

As soon as everyone had been served a piece, we all sat in the dining room, and I surveyed my family, taking in how much love I had for them all. It seemed unfathomable for me to have so many people supporting me, as in my past life, family hadn't been so keen to loving. I grinned at all of them before taking a big bite of my cake.

"Be prepared," Mika said as everyone else dug in, "I got you the best present ever." Next to her, her daughter, Arisa smiled.

"Wasn't the cake your present?" I asked, put off by accepting too much kindness. I mean, they had even closed the shop just for me.

"As if," Arisa said, grinning, "Mom and I plan to spoil you rotten today."

I laughed, a bit childishly as I reached out over the table to touch their hands. I'm sure they always kept their hands within distance just for my sake. I had such a weird thing with touch, it was almost OCD.

"You won't beat me at it," Kushiro announced, "Satsuki and I have the best present ever."

Mika and Arisa exchanged glances before playfully laughing.

"We'll see about that," Mika said.

"Oh stop it," Satsuki humorously scolded.

"Eh? It's just friendly competition, Satsuki-chan." Mika replied, blinking at that, everyone in the room laughed, even Kenma and Ichigo's dad, who was usually so quiet and lost in his thoughts. It seemed everyone was determined for it to be a good day.

And it really was.

Once everyone had finished eating, thoughts went back to the presents and in the end I was the ultimate judge to see who would win. As I was handed the box which held Mika's present, she winked at me, causing me to laugh as I hurriedly opened it. What was in the box caught me completely by surprise. I had thought it would be clothes, or even cooking tools, but never this. Tears welled up in my eyes as I delicately removed it from the box, letting out a whimper.

"I remembered you telling me you wished for a way to have something to keep your memories forever. I also know that you're very concerned about going to Konoha, and I want to ask of you to send me back letters with the things you take with that."

"How?" I croaked, wiping away tears as I looked at her.

"I took a little of the proceeds that we raked in from your creations and splurged a little."

I couldn't help but grin, couldn't help but feel an immense relief towards this gift.

Because inside that box had been something I never thought I'd see again. A camera.

It was very big, and clunky, but it was a camera nonetheless and I couldn't be more ecstatic. In my past life, I had actually been a photographer. Something about being able to keep a single moment engraved forever in the physical world meant a lot. With a nod, I studied the camera very carefully, wondering what kind of materials had gone into creating it. I hadn't even known camera's had been made yet. I thought they came a little later, during Naruto's era. After I had figured out how to work it, I simply wiped my tears away, grabbed both Kenma and Ichigo, as three of us took the first selfie ever. Perfect lighting, angle, and no filters, it was probably one of my favorite moments of the day. The photo turned out great, as it developed and the film shot out and I caught it. It showcased the three of us, Kenma looking confused and adorable, Ichigo looking surprised, and me smiling in the middle making peace sign with my free hand as I had wrapped my arms around the two, bringing us close. It was a nice photo that I knew would become my treasure.

As I showed everyone in the family, Kenma demanding we retake it as he said he looked weird, I couldn't help but feel weightless.

"Now, as great of a present that was," Kushiro said, still looking confident although I couldn't fathom how. Camera beat everything. Well everything except...

"Our present to you is a new little sibling," My father announced carelessly, Satsuki's face completely covered in a blush as everyone's eyes shot to her stomach.

"How long?" Mika asked, eyes wide.

"I'm four weeks along in the first trimester."

"Kushina?" Kushiro asked, noticing that I was frozen, blankly gazing at my mother's stomach. Everyone went quiet as I suddenly walked forward to Satsuki and held my ear to her stomach.

"It's gonna be a girl," was all I said as everyone exhaled in relief.

"Ano," Arisa spoke up, "Who won?"

I debated in my head. Camera, sister, camera, sister, camera, sister... "No one. It's a tie."

"Lifelong memories of a cute little sister doesn't win?" Kushiro asked, slightly disappointed.

"Being able to take pictures that immortalize those memories doesn't win?" Mika asked, the fire in her eyes speaking volumes of her unwillingness to draw at a time.

"I'm just happy I'm able to have both," I murmured, a lazy, satisfied grin settling itself on my face.

"I guess that's all that matters," Mika mumbled, cheeks warm with happiness.

* * *

><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き**

* * *

><p>"Don't go," I heard my mother whisper, her tone desperate. I blinked, surprised by her urgency. I had just gotten up to get water and this is what I see? I moved as quietly as I could to hear more clearly. Yesterday had been such a happy day that something like this felt near to a dream. No one really likes to accept the bad things, do they?<p>

"I have to. People have_ died_, Satsuki. I have to do something to protect you and Kushina."

"But you may-."

"I have to see my daughter wedded, right?" Kushiro murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, "I can't go dying now."

It was a possibility, I knew so very well. Because I _didn't_ know. Nothing had ever been said about Kushina's – _my_ parents. Yet I watched, in dumb-struck horror, as my father left a still faced Satsuki, eyes twisted in pain when his gaze traveled in my direction. I stood, frozen to spot even as he tried for a calming smile. I wasn't calmed. I didn't _feel_ calm. I felt angry and scared.

I wonder, really. I wonder how Kushina must have felt, watching her father leave. Or if she had been oblivious to everything to the very end.

I really wonder.

* * *

><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き**

* * *

><p>It was almost a blessing in disguise when my father stepped into the doors of our house, breathless. Satsuki and I had jumped up from our tasteless, silent meal. Neither of us had gotten too much sleep last night, so it was no wonder we ended up tripping and falling into Kushiro. The three of us landed on the floor but I didn't care. I did my best to stay as close to my father as I could.<p>

"How did it go?" Satsuki asked, her own voice a shaky whisper.

"It went fine, as you can see. Not even a scratch."

"Did you fight a bad guy?" I asked him, peering up at him for his reply.

He nodded, causing Satsuki to sigh. "He was no match for your daddy, sweetheart."

I found my head bobbing in understanding. But there was a strange _look_ in his eye.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, my dear. Why don't you go finish up your breakfast? I have something to discuss with your mother." He was trying peculiarly hard not say whatever he was keeping inside.

"I'm five," I said to him, stubbornly, as I stuck to his body like glue, "I can handle what you're about to say."

Kushiro gazed at me briefly, the wheels turning in his head before he finally nodded, "It does involves you, Kushina."

"Me?" I blinked, in relative surprise.

"Yes. It seems that the council has been talking about some things."

"Things?" Satsuki picked up on, her voice sharp.

Kushiro sighed, waving a hand at their current situation, "I think you girls should properly sit down for this news."

"What? Why?" I panicked, feeling highly alarmed as I stood up, my mother following after as the three of us headed back into the dining room.

"Kushina, you are a very special girl," Kushiro said, eyes grave as he said this, "more special than all of us."

"I don't see why," I mumbled, eyes downcast. I didn't like to feel different from the others. It made me feel less unitary and more… secluded.

"Your chakra, my dear, is different and very special. And they need you immediately, and you'll be leaving to Konoha tomorrow."

"Why?" My voice sounded hallow, scratchy and thin, "What changed? I wasn't supposed to leave until the end of the month!"

"Mito-sama needs you immediately. I don't exactly know all the details but I do know that it has to deal will the Kyuubi."

"Why?" I tried to believe that my voice hadn't cracked as my face went white as a sheet. I knew what he was trying to tell me but _no_. I didn't _want_ this. I wanted to stay with everyone else. I wanted us to stay a family.

"I'm sorry, Kushina."

I knew why Mito needed me, however. I knew it in my gut. She was dying and I would need to take her place as the Jinchuuriki.

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><p><strong>Whisper - <strong>**囁き – ****End**

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><p><strong>Edited: 1213/14  
><strong>


	3. The Uzumaki Way -うずまき方法

**Infamy - ****汚名**

_**3**_

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><p>"So," I laughed to myself, "This is it." I faced my family of five years, my favorite family to have ever been with. We all stood in my home, the house I had grown up for a second time in, and we were merely waiting for my guide to come and take me to Konoha. It was bittersweet when I actually saw Kenma trying to hide tears. Just a few weeks ago he hated my guts and now we were actually like a pair of bantering besties. He was the one I went over to hug first. I had nothing to say that would calm him down, yet he held on tightly and cried into my shoulder.<p>

"Don't change," he hiccuped out when he finally let go, his eyes swollen, "When you get to Konoha, don't change for anything."

I nodded, giving him a radiant, goofy smile, "Kenma, don't you go growing up too soon. I don't want to lose this obnoxious friend."

"W-well, you're obnoxious too!" He sputtered, completely caught off guard. At that, I gave a hearty laugh. Then, I turned to Ichigo. He gave a weak smile. I couldn't help but grimace. Ichigo had actually changed in front of me as he grew to be much more... Mature? No, he resembled a lost child. I sighed as I studied him but out of some sort of weird compulsion, I brought my finger up and jabbed him in the forehead.

"And you!" I cried out, "How dare you grow up in front of me! You know, Ichi-kun, you _don't_ have to hold in those brooding thoughts! You share them because that allows the people that love you to care for you, and isn't that priceless?" I ranted as he looked at me, eyes wide in shock, "Let us in, let us be the one's who worry with you. Nothing will change for the better," I breathed out, "unless you say something. Idiot! You're an idiot and I love you! You're like a brother to me, Ichigo. It hurts when you hurt."

As soon as I allowed pause in my ranting, he soon was bawling like Kenma, and I brought him into a hug, holding back tears of my own.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo mumbled out as he let go.

In the house I heard, Kushiro snort, "There goes my Kushina, making all of the boys cry. She's gonna be one hell of a heart breaker."

"I'm your little heart breaker," I mumbled as I jumped into my father's arms, wrapping myself tightly in his embrace, "Tou-san will always be my favorite boy in the whole world!"

"Better keep it that way for the rest of your life," he demanded, "Don't go falling in love over there."

"I p-promise," I murmured, thinking of a certain blonde boy.

As soon as Kushiro let go I ran to Mika and Arisa and hugged each one tight, whispering a simple, "You guys are the best. I'll come back soon for more treats and with more inventions!" I declared.

"You better," Mika said in a chiding tone. "Else, I'll come to you and drag you back."

"I'll count on it!" I replied with as I finally turned to face my most precious person. Satsuki. Even now, I could recall the long hours we spent together, just talking nonchalantly about everything. With a whimper, I lunged into her waiting arms.

"Don't cry," I mumbled into my mother's chest as she held me tightly. Still, she couldn't hide her sniffling when we were this close. I found my lips wavering and I fought to hold back tears, "I'll be back just in time for my little sister, ne? I'm no liar, Mom. You didn't raise a liar," I whispered into her ear, knowing my voice was shaking.

"I raised a good girl, didn't I? You're already so grown up, Kushina," She let out a laugh, "You're already doing great things at such a young age. I'm proud, baby girl."

I had to bite my lip just to withheld the sob that wanted to come forth, "I'll do my best, Mom."

"You ready to leave?" Came a stiff voice from behind. I swiveled to see who it was, eyes widening when I saw the hair first and the Hyuuga eyes later.

"Hakuba-san!? You're taking me to Konoha?" I asked, mildly surprised but I guess it was kind of obvious. Uzushio wasn't his home, and he _was_ the one to find me.

His seemed to cringe, probably realizing that I wasn't a quiet girl, before replying, "That would be a yes." Hakuba looked to want to be anywhere but here as I hopped forward, my nap sack in hand. I tried to be excited, really. It just wasn't really fun to leave your family.

I hoped it was true that leaving was easier than being left.

"We're gonna have lots of fun, Hakuba-nii-san," I randomly called him, reaching out to touch his hand like what was habit. He complied with my whims but looked anything but happy. Kind of like a frumpy kitty.

"Let's have a nice, _quiet_ trip to Konoha." This was probably the closet he got to begging.

"Un!" I cheered but before I could say anything else, I was cut off by a shrieking scream that seemed to bounce in. Guard set up, I looked around for the source and watched as Hakuba and my family did the same. Before long, the herd of us ran in the direction it came from. The screaming wasn't stopping, and Uzushio's people did not scream. We yelled, hollered, anything but scream as we had our pride. So it must have been a child.

The lot of us sprinted into the forest which suddenly smelled...smoky. My eyes skirted over the treetop, letting out a whimper as I looked to an ashen sky, "Look!" I yelled to them. Yet I was just distracting them as kunai were soaring in the air. One was headed straight for me, but Hakuba quickly grabbed me and shot forward. Satsuki and Kushiro, holding Kenma and Ichigo respectively, were not far behind.

"What about Mika-san and Arisa-san!" I yelled back to them and watched as Satsuki was performing hand seals. A clone appeared out of a gush of wind, a different Satsuki taking hold of Kenma. Kushiro did the same, his clone coming out of water instead, before the two of them fell back to let the clones take care of the twins. "Put me down, Hakuba!" I yelled, not even bothering with honorifics.

"I won't," he denied with a calm voice, as he switched on his Byakugan. Seeing something, he swiftly led everyone left, dodging what ever had been heading for us.

"No!" I yelled out, "Please, I have to be sure their safe! Mom! Dad!"

"Keep an eye on those clones then," Hakuba replied with calmly, "Their clones would be dispelled if they were to ever fall into harms way."

"Right!" I said, suddenly feeling stupid to not think of that. I wasn't wired for chaos, at least not yet.

Abruptly, when I had finally calmed down enough to keep sane, we dropped to a clearing in the forest. I let out a slight 'oopfh' as he dropped me on the ground.

"Don't move, I'll be back," was all Hakuba said before disappearing before my very eyes. Damn, he was fast. The clones of my parents stayed however, even after they dropped Kenma and Ichigo.

"What do you think is happening? Why is everything on fire?" Kenma asked, voice desperate for some answers.

"I don't kn-." I cut myself off as I came to realize. The fire. "Uzushio's burning!" I cried, "Uzushio is burning because the other hidden villages are scared of us!" It was happening. The day I had feared for the past five years was actually happening. _It was _actually_ happening_.

"What?" Kenma asked, confused, "Why would they be afraid? Of us?"

"Because," I started to explain as I swallowed thickly, "Our fuinjutsu. They don't know our limits or boundaries so they're afraid of the unknown and our power."

"Th-that can't be!" Kenma shouted, "We aren't hurting anybody! We're just protecting ourselves!"

"She's right," Ichigo suddenly said. He'd been so quiet...

"How?" Kenma demanded to know.

"Grandfather was talking about it. The hidden villages came up with a unified force to take us down if we didn't reveal our secrets."

"That's-!" I couldn't even finish my sentence. That was so very heartbreaking, I felt like I wanted to cry over how idiotic the world was, "What about Konoha, did they join with them, too? And what of the Ukai and Sakurai clans? Aren't they helping?" I was thinking of the two other big clans of Uzushio. Although their numbers were smaller, they were also powerful in their own respective ways. I didn't socialize with them much, however, as the schooling systems were separated and I usually just hung with the people I had always grown up with.

"They're housing districts are being attacked, just as we are but no about Konoha, but someone in the village did agree. Grandfather kept talking about a man named Shimura Danzo. He seemed to supply a section of his special forces in helping the other hidden villages."

I felt sick, like the bile wanted to rise but the only thing keeping it at bay was the _anger_, the burning _desire_. So it was _that_ man. When I got to Konoha- _if_ I got to Konoha, I would have to do my best to absolutely _destroy_ him.

We were quiet for a moment, letting that sink in.

"We have to go help," Kenma suddenly said and I shook my head vigorously.

"We can't! Hakuba-san will be back soon. So will Mom and Dad," I said confidently, "Besides, we aren't trained for this."

The twin boys exchanged a look, and then faced me as they said in unison, "You may have not been trained for it, but we were."

"If you're afraid, you don't have to help," Ichigo had added, eyes softening.

I grinded my teeth, feeling so absolutely useless before I looked at the clones, "We'll have to get rid of them first...to let Mom and Dad so they know we're coming." At the very least they would be wondering why their clones had suddenly dispersed.

"Are you sure?" Kenma asked, surprised.

I nodded, before casting the seal to create weapons out of thin air, like cloning a weapon, using nothing but a stick to draw the seal as I charged my palms with chakra. It was something that Satsuki had taught us last week. I was still new to it, but before long, the weapons appeared and I quickly threw them at my parents, hardening my resolve to help as the weapons and the clones disappeared in a poof.

"Let's go," was all I said as I took off in the direction Hakuba had gone in.

It was easy to find where to go, following the source of the smoke and listening to the screams.

What we came to find as we broke through the forest was something would be scarred into my memories. Eyes wide, I took in everything. The screaming. The smell of blood in the air. The smell of smoke and the visual of houses burning. People I'd seen all the time on my way to school, people I was familiar with and knew, were actually screaming, trying to fight back with their fuinjutsu as the sheer number, the mass, of shinobi overpowered them. Our fuinjutsu was powerful, so powerful, but even _we_ were outnumbered. A single person was attacked by five elite ninja from a mix of hidden villages.

I had always been under the impression that Uzushio was deserted, yet what I saw before my eyes was a massacre.

I wanted to go anywhere but they there as I watched my village turn to ash and dust.

But I couldn't hide.

In the midst of all the fighting, I could only think to do one thing. I ran back into the forest, but I wasn't running away. Not without a fight. My boiling anger and blood would not allow it. I ducked behind a tree, still having a clear sight of the battle, as I once again performed the seal to summon the weapons such as shuuriken and kunai from the armory my parents had kept under lock and key. I never really understood how it worked, other than when the seal worked, weapons would rise from the grass. Wasting no time on the logistics, I grabbed them and threw, with all my might and accuracy, at the shinobi, watching as I hit a man directly in the jugular. The kunai disappeared but the deed was done. I had killed a man.

An odd sense of pride hit me, the joy of having protected my family, my village. But behind that was shame and a raw feeling of guilt. I had just killed a man, ruining his chances at a life. That last thought, however, quickly vanished as I watched the invading shinobi kill and murder the innocent people of Uzushio, my clansmen. If they could do it, I could too.

I cast the seal again, and threw the five weapons that appeared, marveling over my deadly accuracy as I hit shinobi in the throat, skull, and back. I almost felt like I was making a difference, defeating the guilt of being useless.

Instead, more shinobi appeared, replacing the fallen men.

It was all useless, it felt, as Uzushio was losing.

With a cry, and wide violet eyes, I noticed Kenma and Ichigo being attacked, surrounded. I would never forget the look on their faces, the raw determination, the fire to fight and...the acceptance that they would die.

I wouldn't let that happen.

As fast as I could, I poured my chakra into the drawn seal, conjuring the kunai once more and I grasped all ten that had appeared. I had never done this before, throwing more than three things at once. In theory, I knew what to do. In practice, I didn't know how to hold my hands. But time was wasting, so with little concern for myself and my skills, I tossed them, surprising even myself when I hit all but one attackers that threatened my dear friends. I supposed accuracy came easily to most Uzumaki, as when we learned how to use our chains, we were trained on how to control it to the point that it was instinctual.

The twins gave me a glance of thanks as they tag teamed the remaining invader. It was beautifully elegant as they fell into complete sync. I guess it paid off having a twin. Preparing for another round, I wasted no time in creating more.

That's right. It wasn't time to give up yet.

* * *

><p><strong>The Uzumaki Way -<strong>**うずまき方法**

* * *

><p>War wasn't quiet most of the time, and that much was obvious. But you never thought there would be that moment of silence, when everything seemed okay but it was only a prelude to something much, <em>much<em> worse.

When we finally took back that section of Uzushio, the remaining survivors came out to check on the wounded, myself included, as I kneeled in front of a coughing, panting woman. Her face was masked with burns, but her eyes were still a bright gold. She looked at me and smiled and my stomach sank.

"What a smart idea, Ku-chan. I always knew you would be the smartest of the bunch of you kids. Uzushio's own special prodigy. Even getting a chance to work with Mito-sama!" The woman laughed but then even that sent her into a coughing fit.

"Don't speak, Mika-san," I murmured, eyes welling up with tears, "Blink twice for no, and once for yes. Are you in pain?"

"Don't be silly, Ku-chan," Mika replied, "I'm so healthy I'll be back up in just as min...ute," Mika's eyes started to grow dim, " Yo...u...know..."

"Mika-san, don't!" I cried, wanting her to just shut up and get better.

"Listen...Ku-chan,...we... Are... Uzumaki...and...we...never...give up."

I nodded, "That's right. We just keep getting up, now don't we?" The tears were dripping down my checks at this point.

"That's...right," Mika whispered, voice weak as she cleared her throat. With a strange burst of energy, her eyes sharpened, "I know you will never give up, Kushina Uzumaki..." She breathed in, and then her eyes just...

I looked away, doing my best to wipe away the tears that just wouldn't stop falling, "I'm sorry, Mika-san. I'm so, so sorry, Mika-san." With that, I stood up and moved onto the next one.

Body after body, I only ever found the barest of three people that had stayed alive. But we had no medic to heal them, so even they died.

It was such a simple word. Die. Yet it contained behind it, a sea of heartbreak and dread.

"What do we do now?" Wataru, one of the villages better known shinobi. If the rumors were true, they were even thinking of naming him as one of the Legendary Seals Masters. This guy was the one to be stuck with during a war.

Out of everyone, twelve if I counted correctly, who would've pegged me as the one to reply.

"We go search for an iryo-nin. All seals in the world couldn't make up our numbers."

"Ano," a girl raised her hand. She looked older than my physical age, about 13, "I've been studying medicine under my mother ever since I could remember."

"How good are you?" I asked, "Can you at least heal third degree burns."

With serene eyes and a confident stance she replied, "Yes."

"Good. But we'll need more than you," I murmured, "Do you think you can point out the iryo-nin if go to a new area?"

She hesitated but after a moment she nodded, "I think I can. I've been only working in the hospital for a few weeks."

"Good," I turned to everyone, determination in my eyes.

Wataru then stepped forward, coming besides me with a hand on my shoulder as he turned to address the crowd, "This isn't the time to give up! We must fight for our village and pride! For the people we love and cherish! And for the people who've died for those very things!" Everyone nodded, their own wills burning brightly, "Water and wind affinity users should focus on putting out the fire! Fire users will be our offense! Earth is for defense! Do you hear me!?"

We would stand a chance at least, now that we were unifying.

Wataru went on, "Fire users, I'll stand as your leader! My name is Wataru!"

An elderly lady addressed the crowd, "Then, I suppose I'll be leading the water and wind! My name is Chouko!"

"I'm Arisa!" A familiar voice called and Mika's daughter stepped forth, eyes wide with boiling anger and anguish, "I'll be leading the earth affinity users!"

"Kenma, Ichigo," I called out, "the three of us will be protecting our medic. At all costs necessary."

"My name is Aisa," the iryo-nin said as she stepped closer to the three of us. We gave our nods, taking a defensive pose around the girl as we looked up to our impromptu leader for guidance.

"All right, everyone! We head west!" Wataru hollered as he headed to that very direction, the area of the Tanto District.

Even from here, we were able to hear the distant screaming and smell the blood. It only fueled our anger.

When we came upon the district of weapons, it was far worse then the sight of the last battle. Our people had been gruesomely murdered. _Our_ own weapons had been used to split heads, slit throats, stab backs, and rip apart our brethren. Our group's fury was palpable, thick in the air as we immediately set to work.

"Aisa!" I shouted in the midst of the deafening battle cries and screams of anguish, "Find someone, anyone, find the iryo-nin!"

"On it!" She yelled back as the three tiniest fighters of our group stuck to her like glue, using fallen kunai to deflect the weapons thrown at us, "There! She's fighting but that's my aunt!" I looked to where she pointed, watching in horror as three invaders attacked.

Iryo-nin weren't trained to fight like that.

Wasting little time, I jumped forward, kunai in hand as I sliced the tip of my finger. Using the blood drawn, I drew the seal to enhance strength on my arm, pouring my chakra into it, a trick I had learned by myself after thinking of Tsunade's technique. In a matter of seconds I jumped off of a tree, using my momentum in the air to triple my attacking strength. I ended up taking down the man I struck, properly crushing his skull with my bare hands.

"I'm here to help!" I told the medic, "Get behind me!" She complied but not before she swiftly cut the jugular of the invader closest to her. I didn't blink a lash as I stabbed into the remaining attacker's stomach. With that finished, I grabbed the palm of the medic and brought her back to Aisa and the twins.

"Have you seen any other iryo-nin!?" I demanded to know.

"They're all gone, dead," Aisa's aunt said, a tired look in her eyes, "They took them all out."

With a sinking feeling I realized we only had two iryo-nin, and one wasn't even a master at it. No way were we all going to survive this. It had probably been their attackers plan; take out the medics and watch the rest suffer.

"You mean... Mom?" Aisa asked, her hand coming to her hand as she gasped in horror.

"She...died protecting a little boy," the older iryo-nin answered and to that, Aisa began to sob. Oh, _no_ you didn't.

"Aisa!" I snapped, eyes glaring, "Keep your head on and don't waste your mother's sacrifice!"

With a choked sob, she nodded, "R-right!"

I sighed, keeping my eyes quick on the uptake, ready for anything. I easily deflected the kunai sent, "Alright, Kenma, Ichigo, the two of you will get them to safety."

Kenma nodded, "What about you?"

With quick thinking, I reopened the wound on my finger and used the blood to draw a seal on his fore arm, as well as Ichigo's. I was running out of chakra, but I needed to do this, "This is a triggering seal. If anything happens to me, you will know. And I'll know too, because it works both ways. When I tap my wrist, you should be able to feel it too, from the connection and know to come back." The seal was meant to work as a vital sign informant for a group of teams on a mission. I guess growing up reading scrolls really did come in handy. I figured I'd memorized half of the scrolls in my families possession and had at least read the other half.

"Right!" Ichigo shouted to me as the four of them left the main street of the Tanto District.

With them gone, I turned back to the fight, cracking my still charged knuckles. It was time to get started.

* * *

><p><strong>The Uzumaki Way -<strong>**うずまき方法**

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><p>By the time we had cleared the Tanto District of invaders, there was only sixty-seven left alive with nearly half of them injured. Only three were injured critically, however, which was a good sign that we were turning this back into our favor. I tapped my wrist, awaiting their return as Wataru set up the seal that would stabilize the critically injured. It would diminish his chakra supply, however, which meant our best fighter was out of commission.<p>

Shortly thereafter, the twins arrived back with the iryo-nin in tow. There was a chorus of cheers as they quickly got to work. With a small grin, even I felt things were looking up.

"Alright," Wataru spoke up after the medic had done what they could and the seal could be deactivated, "What do we do now?" He was looking around before his eyes lingered on me.I gulped, feel as if all of their eyes were trained on me, even as they had no reason to me. But after what had just happened, I wasn't really shy. Just tired.

I spoke up, "Well, we should focus on getting the four other districts cleared. Thinking of where there would be more people and hopefully other iryo-nin, we should first focus on Kaigi District, where the hospital is. If what I'm assuming took place, we have little hope to find anyone there at all."

"Then why go there?"

"For one thing," I gazed at the woman who spoke up, "There are beds, and supplies, such as chakra pills. It will be a place to rest, and regain our chakra reserves. Most of us _are_ running on empty. We should, at the very least, get everyone patched up."

"I'm liking that idea, but what will we do after that?" Wataru asked, brows raised in question.

"Next, we take back the Shokumotsu District, and the ones ready to right _now_, will be headed there, but not without a communication seal. We'll need the food that's there and we're most likely going to find the majority of the fight taking place there for the very reason that our fiercest kunoichi are there," a shiver ran through the crowd as we all saw the likelihood of the mothers of Uzushio protecting their children. Hopefully...Satsuki... A pang of pain was sent to my heart but I brushed it off.

"Next, we'll split up and take back the housing districts, Juutaku, and Shuuyou District. Juutaku especially because of the docking port there. We'll be able to figure out how they got on our island in the first place."

"Right!"

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><p><strong>The Uzumaki Way -<strong>**うずまき方法**

* * *

><p>It had been as I thought, the area had been deserted save for the bodies that littered the floor, and the mess of medical supplied that signaled a fight and struggle. But iryo-nin weren't fighters, and it wasn't like their patients had much a fight in them anyhow. It was painful to see all of the faces of our treasured people, and once Aisa and her aunt laid eyes on the faces familiar to them, they burst into hysteric sobs. Everyone had a hard time taking it.<p>

Once everyone been treated, and their chakra replenished with the emergency chakra pills, leaving the severely hurt, and the iryo-nin (along with a group of defenders if anything went wrong which included Kenma and Ichigo), we all started back out and left to the Shokumotsu District, home to the markets, shops, restaurants, and our entertainment sector. The shinobi already over there fighting with the communication seal had confirmed my suspicions of it being the heart of the battle. Uzumaki mother's weren't the type to give up easily, more so than others.

When we arrived, we all took in the scene of angry passionate mothers taking care of business with the rare occasional father. Even still, they were outnumbered and wouldn't have lasted much longer if we had stalled anymore. Without needing to be told, we converged onto the invaders.

I only had one goal, look for Satsuki and Kushiro.

Much my relief, I found them, both of them together as they fought as a tag team. Satsuki was pulling out all of her best, destructive seals and Kushiro was protecting our shinobi from the blast. Satsuki looked absolutely furious, like a goddess of wrath. She met my gaze after I couldn't help but freeze. The look of shock and surprise covered her face as she quickly finished off the man she was battling. Rushing towards me, she enveloped me in a warm embrace. Kushiro kept off attacks as we had our moment.

"Why didn't you stay where you were, young lady?" Satsuki demanded to know.

"I wanted to help," I explained, deflecting a kunai aimed for our faces.

"Help, she did," Wataru said, as he overheard our conversation, "She was kind of our impromptu leader."

"Kushina!" Kushiro cheered, "That's my baby girl!"

I beamed at the praise, but the battle wasn't over yet. After Satsuki let me out of her grasp, we continued to fight. Everything was going our way, we were going to win...

Yet, just as things were looking up, as we were nearly done clearing the district, an explosion was heard just before we were enveloped in fire. With wide eyes, it almost didn't even register what happened until I looked up after rolling onto my back. Satsuki had protected me from the blast with her entire body.

"_MOM_!" I screamed as I had never done before, watching her smile gently at me before brushing a lock of my hair out of my face.

"You've done so well, Kushina. I'm so proud of you," she was saying in a whisper as we heard the fire roar around us, "I want you to have it."

I looked at her with confusion, "What is it, Mom."

"My memories," Satsuki murmured as she touched my chest, cutting it open with a flick of her nail, "I wasn't going to do this, but I need you to know. So that the Uzumaki fuinjutsu doesn't disappear. Please be diligent in your studies with Mito-sama, and live a life by your rules," My mother told me and I nodded with little understanding of the situation.

"Okay, Mom..."

"I'm sorry, Kushina...you won't be getting that baby sister."

"It's fine, Mom, I just want you..."

She smiled again, her eyes bright with unshed tears, "Your wish is my command, Kushina-hime." Her palm laid flat on my chest, before I felt Satsuki's chakra bleed into my chest, her chakra moving and creating a seal. This was a flesh seal, the most barbaric form of fuinjutsu. When the chakra began to burn, I didn't mind. All I could see, instead of Satsuki, was her memories.

Like a picture book, the pages were flipped through and the highlight of a lifetime of Satsuki's memories? It was me.

I watched as I blew out the candles to a cake, violet eyes excited. I watched as I pouted over the food, confused about something. I watched as I exchanged banter with Kenma. I saw myself crawling as a small child, how I sucked on her finger when I got the chance, how my first word was 'Kaa'.

And before I knew it, we were here again, and I watched as Satsuki's first reaction when she heard the bomb was to cover me, to protect me. I felt her emotions of love, of admiration, and of pride as she gazed at me in her arms.

And then, the images were gone and I was by myself.

The world was dark, for some very strange reason. The stars and moon were the only light in the sky.

I had...failed.

* * *

><p><strong>The Uzumaki Way -<strong>**うずまき方法**

* * *

><p>I don't know how long I had been there, just laying with my dead mother on top of me. All I knew was that I kept replaying her memories in my head, starting from when she met Kushiro, to where she had me. I replayed everything until I found myself back in my body. But I couldn't stand for it. I just replayed it all once more.<p>

That is, until I was found by Hakuba. He looked weary, and tired, the bags under his eyes present enough to make him resemble a panda. For some reason, I found myself laughing at the sight of him, looking so disheveled and un-Hyuuga-like.

He grimaced before pulling me out from underneath Satsuki and setting me on my feet, "If you had stayed where I told to you stay, you wouldn't have had to see that."

His voice sounded so weird to me... I couldn't help the bubbling laughter that came forth.

It was so funny. I had tried so hard and had actually _murdered_ people and for what? Just to watch my mother die before my eyes.

"What's so funny?" Hakuba asked and I just clutched my stomach, my face drenched with new tears as I tried to stop laughing. I just couldn't. I laughed so hard and the tears just kept on coming and I couldn't stop. Just like I couldn't stop the destruction of Uzushio.

Sighing, Hakuba simply picked me up, doing his best to ignore me as he sprinted us out of the Shokumotsu District. By the time we got of there, my eyes were too blurry to see where we were going. But when we landed, my laughter had died down enough for me to hear the familiar voice shout my name.

"Kushina!" It was Kenma, and soon after Ichigo join in on calling my name. Hakuba put me down on my weak legs just as the twins engulfed me in a hug.

"You're alive!" I warbled out in a sob as I clutched the two of them tightly.

"Thanks to you," Kenma said, "a lot of people are alive."

"Huh?" I blinked, and swiftly wiped my tears aside before I finally took in the scene in front of my eyes.

"Reinforcements from Konoha came in just in time for us to clear out the two housing districts but they would have been too late if it hadn't been for you. They even took out the fires and there a ton of people that managed to live. We're still sifting through the bodies to see if there are any more survivors," Ichigo explained.

I nodded, brows creased as I realized that I had actually done something that the real Kushina hadn't. I had allowed Uzushio to remain.

The feeling I had...couldn't be described.

"Hey, what's that?" Kenma asked, pointing to my open chest. Face flaming that I hadn't even closed up my shirt, I saw the seal and was amazed how intricate and thick the lines were. Satsuki really had put her all into the flesh seal.

"It's from Mom. Her...parting gift."

Their faces paled as the message settled in.

Satsuki was dead and wouldn't be one of those survivors.

* * *

><p><strong>The Uzumaki Way -<strong>**うずまき方法 ****- End**

* * *

><p><strong>Edited: 1214/14  
><strong>


	4. To Be Loved - 愛されたい

**In****famy - ****汚名**

_**4**_

* * *

><p>After everything was all said and done, and Hakuba and I had healed and rested enough to make it, my trip to Konoha was uneventful. Aside from the pain that is. I was still leaving behind my home, even if my family had shrunk during the attack. It was only Arisa, Ichigo, and Kenma of my close friends. Then again, Uzushio wasn't mine to have. It was Kushina's. That was something I had to remind myself every time I felt entitled to stay. It's not like they could force me to stay in Konoha forever, I would come back sooner or later to see how well it was doing. Even as I left, I knew that I would return to help Arisa at her mother's shop once it had been rebuilt. Even more than that, I would go to show off everything I learned from Mito to Kenma and Ichigo.<p>

That sent a pang through my heart as I clutched the picture to my chest. The both of them had a copy each as Wataru (he'd survived the blast with severe burns and his strong will to live), as a thank you, had been kind enough to duplicate them with a jutsu of his. I sighed, feeling comfort from just touching it, as I tried to keep up with the long strides of Hakuba. Surprisingly enough, a lot of our journey was done on foot, and not on the horses I expected to get on after the boat ride to the main land. It turned out that, as we spent the next four days either sleeping up in a tree or walking through the forests, Hakuba had a very keen sense of direction. He was never lost, it seemed. Well, he never used his Byakugan, that's for sure.

It was particularly tasking for me on the first day, but by the second day, it was easier. Most likely because the first was mostly mountains and the second day was mostly going down hill. Either way, Hakuba made for a crabby traveling partner. He seemed to disapprove of my manners, even as I tried to keep respectful and polite. It was just hard after spending so much time with loud voices and impolite speech. He was especially appalled with how I ate food, but I had no clue on why. In Uzushio, we never used a lot of utensils. It would just cost too much to import from the main land, so we usually ate with our hands. Even in Mika's shop it was like that. You paid extra for any silverware.

By the third day, I was still trying to get comfortable with the metal chopsticks he gave me. Don't get me wrong, I knew how to eat with chopsticks, but they were usually wood because metal was expensive. Besides, who on Earth wanted to eat with such slippery things. I'd lost count on how often the chopsticks fell out of my hands and fell to the dirty ground, causing Hakuba's face to pale. That was pretty funny, I guess, but what was the funniest thing about Hakuba was his hair. I still couldn't get over it. Was it a choice or had he been attacked?

The question haunted me.

On the fourth day, we reached Konoha and I had never seen a man so relieved to get away from such a pretty girl as he quickly left me with the chuunin at the gates. At the joke in my head, I chortled with laughter. The chuunin looked lost on what to do with me and gazed at me as if I had lost my sanity.

"Poor thing, must be from having spent too long with Hyuuga-san."

"Yeah," agreed the second chuunin but I just shook my head.

"Hakuba-san is just funny is all," I explained.

The two of them shared glances as the first one repeated under her breath, "Poor thing."

The second guy was the one who agreed to take me to the Hokage's office while the other one stayed to keep diligent watch on the gates. The walk to our destination left me pretty exhausted as I finally felt the exhaustion of my travels. I got so sleepy that I ended up asking the chuunin to carry me the rest of the way. He complied but his back was so bumpy and hard that it was difficult to get comfortable.

Before long, we came to the door as the chuunin knocked after having put me down and the Hokage called us in, voice easily crossing the distance. Even from having prior knowledge on who he was, I was still taken aback. He looked younger and his voice was heavier. It was a bit off-putting too, the look in his eyes. It was colder than I expected.

"I presume you're Kushina Uzumaki," he started off with.

"At your service, dattebane," I said nervously, hoping his eyes would move away. Thankfully, they did as he referred to the chuunin.

"You may head back to your post."

"Yes," the boy promptly left, looking slightly unsettled. So the man had that affect on everybody. I guess his kindness came with age. It was still a little disappointing to say the least.

"Welcome to Konohagakure," Sarutobi said to me as his lips came to smile. It didn't reach his eyes.

"Thank you," I mumbled, still feeling completely petrified. It seemed unfair that they do this to me, at the measly age of five. I half wished that the chuunin had stayed.

"Do you require an explanation as to why you're here?"

I shook my head, "I'm going to be Mito-sama's replacement as the Jinchuuriki."

"Have you come to terms with this?"

"No," I said honestly, fighting the desire to run and hide from this man's gaze. His gaze was what I had thought Shimura Danzo's would be like and if the Hokage was this way, I could only imagine what he was like.

"No?"

"I'm giving my life away. It's not an easy thing to come to terms with. I'll be feared and my life will be dramatically altered. However, I wanted to make a deal with you."

His brows shot up, "A deal?"

"If I comply with everything I'm told to do, I wish to visit my family when it's acceptable for me to do so."

"Hmm, this request is acceptable. If you comply, I'll have you return to visit your family."

Alright! Now I was buzzing with excitement, "So when do I meet Mito-sama?"

"Right now," Sarutobi smiled, and for the first time, it was actually a real one. Ah, so he does have it in him. His gaze traveled to look behind me and that's when I met the gaze of the most beautiful woman I had laid eyes on. Like from my past life's memories, she was definitely old yet she carried this air of youth, the Uzumaki blood burning brightly. Her eyes were sharp, like gemstones, and her hair tied very neatly into two side buns as the rest of her hair cascaded down her waist. Her red hair had become less vibrant as the gray had made it's way in, but she was still very beautiful. It didn't help that when she smiled at me, it was the most genuine smile to a stranger that I had ever seen. I couldn't fathom why, but she came forward, only to hug me tightly.

"Ah! The hero of Uzushiogakure! How was your trip, Kushina-chan?" She asked, treating me as if I were her own flesh and blood. Like a granddaughter. I blinked but nodded.

"It was very fun. Hakuba-san is interesting."

"Did you pull pranks on him?" She asked, excitement clear in her eyes, but her chiding voice seemed to mask it, "Although, if you ask me, Hakuba-kun needs to live a little," she had whispered in my ear and I found myself giggling like a school girl.

"I agree," I whispered back, before saying in a louder tone, "I resisted with all my might and made it the entire trip fighting my whims. I can't promise for when I see him next, 'ttbane!" I exclaimed.

"I'll have to teach you some tricks to behaving then, won't I?" Mito winked, smiling down at me mischievously. Mito was an Uzumaki through and through.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Loved - <strong>**愛されたい**

* * *

><p>Mito was a very kind person most of the time, but a very scary person when you got on her nerves. Although I can't speak about the latter as I'd never seen her angry, I saw how everyone around her seemed to tiptoe. Despite what I heard when I eavesdropped for more information, I always felt so warm and safe in her presence and she was never anything but kind and supportive as I suffered through adjusting to life in Konoha. For one thing, everyone was quieter than what I was used to and more subdued.<p>

When I brought it up to Mito all she said was, "I thought it was strange at first, too. But over time you realize that the Uzumaki are just built differently than the rest and that they're all still good people. They're just not as outwardly passionate."

I had nodded, "I get it, but it's still kind of creepy." It wasn't a feeling I could help. If another person was in the room, and this happened too often for my tastes, they were so quiet I wouldn't even notice until they either called my name or touched my shoulder. It was as bad as a jump scare in a video game. Every time I brought up things like that, she would usually just laugh and comment about how ninja's were like cats and how I'll get used to it eventually when I joined the Academy in Konoha.

The Academy. I sigh every time I think of it. Mi-Ugh, I couldn't even think his name. I wished I could just stay with Mito like I was now, taking my lessons from her. Mito was a very good teacher too. She was diligent like Satsuki and fun like Jurata. She continued my calligraphy and had taught me the shorthand she'd made herself to keep her scrolls and fuinjutsu private and safe. When I asked why I was trusted with knowing her codes, she just shook her head and said something I'm sure I'll never forget.

"Kushina-chan, I regard you as my own next of kin, for all intents and purposes. You see, we will share a special bond, you and I. One that can only be shared with other Jinchuuriki. The pride, the responsibility, and the hardships, _that_ is what makes our role so important. I want you to never be ashamed of what you are. I want you to live as a ninja that shocks the world, and one that is respected for the weight you carry as an Uzumaki Jinchuuriki."

I bit my lip, willing myself not to cry as I moved even further into her warmth.

"Oh, Kushina-chan, never doubt that you are loved."

."Thank you," was all I could say as I choked back the tears.

Now, Mito was flitting about, admiring her handy work as she gazed at the outfit she'd made for my first day at school, which would be tomorrow. It was exactly as I recalled it from the manga. It almost felt sacrilegious, not that Kushina or her Academy outfit was an object or person of religion. Yet they sort of was. To me, at least. In my past life, I had been known for the shrines I made in honor of my favorite Naruto characters. I couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt over wearing it and looking just as Kushina had on her first day of school.

Suddenly I was overwhelmed with the feeling, tugging nervously at my long bright red hair. I had to do something. Quicker than what Mito could recognize what I was doing, I grabbed her scissors and chopped a chunk of hair off. The guilt didn't disappear. I'd made a grave mistake. It was almost like cutting Kushina's beloved hair was seven worse then wearing her clothes.

Mito just stared at me in quiet shock before she took the scissors out of my shaking hand, before gently saying, "If you wanted a haircut, you could have just said so."

"Kaa-san wears her hair short," I mumbled softly, feeling like a criminal.

"I see," Mito replied with calmly as she got to work fixing my, _Kushina's_ ruined hair. With each lock of hair gone as it got shorter and shorter, it felt like a punch to the gut. How could I...? I'm sorry, Kushina, I'm so sorry.

In the end, Mito cut it so that it ended just a little bit above my shoulders and studied, biting her own lip as in thought before let out a soft, "Ah! I know what's missing." The Uzumaki woman then walked a little bit away as she reached into a tiny nap sack that was decorated with seals that held no chakra. She pulled out two hair pins and walked back to me. With a definite plan in her head, she pinned my bangs to the side, using both of them to contain my thick vibrant red hair.

"This way, you can face your classmates with pride in your Uzumaki heritage because these pins were given to me by my mother. I'd like for you to keep them, and if you ever have a daughter, I'd love for you to pass it down to her," Mito grinned as my eyes filled with tears.

"You're the greatest Obaa-san ever," I mumbled before I checked myself, "I m-mean, you're not old-."

"Obaa-san, hmm, has a nice ring to it, ne? I wouldn't mind you calling me that."

I froze for a second before launching myself into her side, "Obaa-san, I love you!"

"I love you too, Kushina-chan."

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Loved - <strong>**愛されたい**

* * *

><p>I stood in front of the thirty-three faces of the monsters I'd be going to school with for the rest of my Academy days. My new teacher, Ruta Biru, was even forcing me to introduce myself to the entire class by myself. A special place in hell should be made for people who did stuff like that as the self introduction could literally make or break my social life, and in Kushina's case, it totally broke. But I was not without preparation. Mito had been kind enough to cook me breakfast this morning and as we enjoyed it together, Mito asked about my plans for my 'big day'. I'd simply told her that the plan was to stay out of trouble.<p>

"You're real plan should just to be yourself," she had said and it suddenly clicked why Kushina had been so defensive and blunt. It was simply who she was at that time. Defensive because she was seen as an outsider, and blunt because Uzumaki were too impatient to doddle around riddles or rules. But as for me, I didn't even really know who I was at this point. Was I my past self? A girl who I couldn't even recall the name of? Or was I actually Kushina? Both were wrong. I wasn't that old girl any more. Yet I wasn't Kushina either, at least not the real one. No, I was someone in the middle. A somewhat brash, yet polite, loud, yet quiet and sincere, yet mischievous girl. I guess I was made of so many contradictions to help me find who I really was. At least, that was what I made out of it. So I followed Mito's advice and went for it.

Or was going to.

Before I said anything at all, I found myself doing looking at the familiar chubby cheeked boy who's hair defied gravity. It was all so real in that moment, as my eyes widened. This was the man who would become the future Hokage, the man who would stop the war, the man who Kushina married and loved. He was the father of Naruto. He just stared curiously at me back and I suddenly wanted to run to the hills as fast as I could.

"A-Ano," I started for as I felt Minato's gaze burn into my forehead. That wasn't good and my body felt it. I thought I was going to throw up as I had a sudden outburst, "I'm Kushina Uzumaki, 'ttebane!" My voice was too loud and I heard sniggers heard around the class. I felt dizzy as I replied back in a yell, "Huh, you all want to fight!? I'll totally win, you know, because one day I'll be the first female Hokage, 'ttbane!"

Did I really just say that? Really? It was the only thing my hazy brain could come up with as I did my best to avoid looking at Minato. Oh, to be back with Mito in her safe, comfy room.

"Ne, looks like Namikaze-kun has some competition," One brat in the back of the room said.

I would have murdered him if I could as I watched the entire class burst out into laughter.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Minato just simply smiling and almost lost it as I yelled, "I'm serious, 'ttebane!" Although, I wasn't. I didn't want to be Hokage, and neither did Kushina. She just wanted the recognition of her peers and not as some outsider.

"Ah, she looks like a tomato!" One boy hollered out and I nearly saw red. How dare he call Kushina a tomato? No matter how delicious they were, that was an insult I couldn't dare let slid. Years of living with the Uzumaki has taught me to never pass up a challenge. So I used the technique Mito had taught me a few days ago. Even with short hair I could pull it off perfectly.

Infusing chakra into my hair, I charged them up and didn't even need to feel for gravity defying tendrils of red hair. I could see the kid's reactions of a mixture of fear and confusion as I hissed out, "Is that a challenge? Because I will take any of you on and win!" I knew I could too. I fought with the toughest boys in my class all the time. Spars occurred daily in Uzushio for the sake of maintaining a reputation to be feared and acknowledged._ That's_ how things were done in Uzushio.

Safe to say, that my self introduction was a mess and my new teacher recognized it as so when he just sighed. I wanted to sigh too, knowing I had done exactly what I had planned to avoid.

"Class, that's enough. Kushina-chan, go sit next to Minato Namikaze-kun."

Oh, dear, kill me now.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Loved - <strong>**愛されたい**

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" I called into the silence as I entered the very traditional house that Mito lived in the Senju clan home as an adviser to the head of the clan and the widowed wife of Hashirama. The Senju clan had actually been fairly pleasant to me, and from the way the family treated Mito, it like Senju <em>was<em> a Senju and not an Uzumaki. I didn't really mind but nothing could convince me that Mito was even-tempered like the Senju. She was too sneaky with her pranks, I guess.

"Ah, welcome home!" Mito said, her energy high as she came to embrace me. Lately, I'd been worried about her health more and more, wishing she'd stay healthy forever. It wasn't like the Uzumaki to die from a illness, "How was school today?"

I bit my lip, considering telling her the truth, "It was horrible!" I declared, "Someone said I looked like a tomato!"

"Tomato's are delicious but even you don't look like a tomato," Mito considered it, "I'd say you're more like a habanero pepper."

"That's what I thought," I said, a giggle coming forth as I tightly embraced Mito.

"Anything else happened to make it a horrible day?" She asked, her voice laced with curiosity.

"I messed up on my self introduction, Obaa-san," I said, shoulders sinking in defeat, "I messed up really bad."

"How bad?"

"I said I would be the first female Hokage..." I mumbled quietly.

"Hmm," Mito sounded thoughtful before she finally said, "I think that's the perfect position for someone as tough and strong as you."

I grinned, "You think?"

"I do. I know you would make an excellent Hokage. And what an honor it would be to be the first female!"

"But," I pouted, "there was this other boy who says the same thing."

"What's he like?" Mito patiently asked as she led the two of us into the kitchen for snacks.

"He's like...weird," I settled on, "He's quiet and I don't think he has parents but he's nice to everyone and patient."

"And that's weird?" Mito snorted.

"Yeah!" I cheered, "I think he's best in the class right now too."

"Ah!" Mito exclaimed, "What a wonderful rival then. Fitting, for the best kunoichi in the village! So what's the boy's name?"

"His name is Minato Namikaze. He's blonde with really pr-big blue eyes."

"Not with as pretty eyes as you have," Mito grinned down at me as she handed me a stick of dango, "I made these myself."

I quickly ate the first one, eyes wide, "This is really good, Obaa-san!"

"I'm glad you like it, Kushina-chan," Mito said, taking a bite out of her own dango, "Now, how about we go about learning some seals?"

"Yes!" I whooped, getting excited to be learning from the greatest seals master in the world, "With your help, I'll be the best Hokage ever!"

"Of course!"

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Loved - <strong>**愛されたい**

* * *

><p>The next day in class, I found myself sitting bored in it, twiddling my thumbs as Ruta-sensei taught everything I'd learned in Uzushio. The only one who seemed to be as bored as me was the boy sitting right next to me. I watched in the corner of my eye as he solved math problems on his text book, creating them and solving them in an unending cycle. It was almost humorous but when I saw he was completing problems even I had issues with, I felt a hint of annoyance. I deliberated on what to do, knowing I had to do <em>something<em> or I'd go insane.

So I opened my own textbook. Thinking of the hardest problem I could and writing it down, I shifted it over so he could see. Minato looked at me curiously, questioning before copying the problem onto his own paper and solving it in a matter of seconds. Pursing my lips, and scrunching up my brows, I set out to make an impossible solve. It took me a few minutes, but when I finally created it, he was already waiting, and the cycle repeated as he easily completed what seemed like an impossible math problem. I studied his answer, almost thinking he made it up.

So I wrote on my paper, a tad bit put off, 'Can you show me how you did that?'

Instead of outright replying, he just rewrote the problem out and explained each step he took in great detail. I blinked, realizing that I couldn't even dream to beat Minato at math. At least not with my current skill level.

'You know,' I wrote onto his own paper, as I moved closer to him, 'being good at math isn't one of the traits to become Hokage.' I then drew out a frustrated face before adding on, 'I'll become the first female Hokage. Just you watch!'. Okay, I know, I'm a bit stupid, talking to the enemy like this. After I moved away again, I studied his face as he read my message. With the tiniest of smiles, he returned the favor by scooting in closer to me and writing on my own journal.

'I'll cheer you on, if you cheer me on.'

His handwriting was nice... No, get yourself together! He's the enemy. Wasting not even a second, I replied by whispering into his ear, doing my best not to be overheard (I was bad at whispering, like most Uzumaki), "May the best one win." With that, I pulled away and closed my notebook, promptly ignoring the hell out of Minato, or trying to. Out of damned curiosity, I found myself glancing back, just to see his reaction. To see it, was like an attack.

Minato was blushing. _Actually blushing._

My own face flamed brightly as I felt my cheeks warm up considerably. I didn't even like him! Feeling dismayed, I cupped my cheeks with my cool hands and prayed Minato would leave me alone.

He did, that is, until our next class.

Ruta-sensei wasn't our taijutsu teacher. He just taught us the things for the written exam and the intellectual things. Kurosawa-sensei, an middle aged woman with a strict regime, took care of the taijutsu training for my entire grade. She was pretty scary, if I was honest, but she was sincerely trying to get us prepared for the worst. I was totally okay with her and her teaching methods, thinking that she resembled Satsuki a little in that nature, when it all changed.

Today was sparring day, to show case all we had learned in class, and being as I had only been in school for two days, I only had my clan's fighting technique. I had excelled in my last school, having been only second to Ichigo and even then, I had been able to beat him on the rare occasion that I was motivated. But here, Kurosawa-sensei had been appalled when she saw my practicing the katas of my clan. It seemed she was hellbent on wanting all girls to fight like girls.

From the way she spent more time with the girls than the boys, I could tell she held a lot of pride for kunoichi. More so than that, however, she held pride in the fact even with the feminine way of fighting, it could cause even more damage than the boy's way of taijutsu. I wasn't really a stickler for gender norms but by the way Kurosawa-sensei had spent most of class time with me, trying to teach me a better way to fight, she was a stickler for such things.

It was almost kind of disappointing to her to find that a masculine formation worked better than the one she wanted us girls to use.

My tomboyish nature only seemed to add to the flame of my bullies as the teasing was relentless. But I didn't really care much. Yesterday, I had blown a gasket because of Minato, and not actually because I was one to rise to the bait. No, I was happier just focusing on improving my taijutsu skills.

Moving on, however, I was rather _un_happy today because who had Kurosawa-sensei chosen as my sparring partner? Minato. He was haunting me, I could feel it.

Luckily, we would be the last pair to fight as everyone else in the class watched fight after fight. I was too distracted to even focus on the other kids. Because I was in trouble. I knew literally nothing about his fighting stance or tricks. The only thing I could assume was that he still only knew the Academy taught katas and wasn't yet under the tutelage of Jiraiya.

I could only pray so I didn't get my ass kicked.

By the time is was our turn, the whole class was laughing and patting his back for encouragement as he made is way to the ring in which the spars took place in. Kurosawa-sensei, not wanting anyone seriously hurt, had come up with the rule that if one person was moved out of the ring, then the match went to the person remaining within the circle. I aimed to do just that.

We both took our stance, noticing that my stance was largely different to his. But it wasn't the Academy's form. Blowing out a breath as Kurosawa-sensei called the match to start, I jumped forward. He dodged my sweeping kick easily and I noticed that even at a young age he was fast. I smirked, finding myself enjoying the fun as I ducked down, missing the punch he sent toward my jaw, himself leaning too forward into it. Using the momentum brought on by his lost balance, I wrenched his legs out from underneath him, as he landed on his back with a thud.

I grinned, watching as he didn't pause long before using the fact that my arms were still clutching his ankles to quickly to a spin, releasing himself just as he used his arms to flip himself into a standing position. We faced each other, studying the other as we guessed who would break the standoff. Unexpectedly, it was him as he ran at him, fist at the ready as he brought punch after punch much to my excitement. I blocked each one with my forearm, surprised at how weak his punches were. Well I guess he was focused more the speed things.

"I'll show you what a real punch is like, 'ttebane!" I declared, breaking away from him as I charged my fist with chakra, easily knocking aside the arm he intended to block with and hitting him square in the gut. The air whooshing out of him was such a satisfying sound, I took this as my chance to push him out of the circle. This had been easier than I had thought it would be...

Minato pushed back, catching me thoroughly off guard as I gave way, the both of falling into a heap. Our eyes met and for the first time I noticed he had a flat out grin on his face. My face flamed just as quickly as I looked away, suddenly lost in what to do. I heard him chuckle before leaning in close to say in my ear, "May the best one win."

Face even hotter than before, I was suddenly charged with the anger and determination the Uzumaki was known for. I pushed him aside, hair waving wildly as I shouted, "I'm only five!" Confusion showed on his face but he had crossed the line all the way into harassment- never mind the fact that I did it first - and I was thirsty for blood. His blood. Fist charged with chakra, I wordlessly punched him in the face, watching as his nose broke in odd fascination, feeling only slight guilt. But I wasn't done yet and there was no time for guilt. Charging my entire arms with chakra, I lifted him up and _tossed_ him out of the ring.

"Now," I said, panting, face still hot, "_that_ is how it's done."

Minato stood up, noticing he had lost, he gave an unexpected smiled as he held a hand out, "The best one won, right?"

I felt a vein in my head throb, as I wordlessly yanked tissue out of the hidden pocket Mito had added in when I requested it. I tossed it to him with a muttered, "Clean yourself up, you idiot, 'ttebane!"

"Ah, thank you," Minato replied with, touching the tissue to his nose and pulled it back, seemingly surprised there was blood.

"That was a good fight, Kushina-chan. But I would refrain from using chakra next time," Kurosawa-sensei said and I cringed knowing that being chastised would only fuel the bullying. I couldn't change it even if I tried as I watched all the kids nod to themselves in agreement. They were all gonna team up on me in a consensus of hate. But that was something to be concerned with for another time. Instead, I found myself gazing at the one who would be called Konoha's Yellow Flash. He was staring at me too, blue eyes wide as if he'd finally come to understand something. I quickly looked away, face red as I did my best to ignore the hell out of him.

Who knew Minato would be such a weirdo.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Loved - <strong>**愛されたい**

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><p>Sometimes I still had nightmares about what happened in Uzushio.<p>

Mito was never the wiser due to my silence of the matter and the fact that we slept in different rooms.

Sometimes I stared awake at night, just looking at the sealing until my eyes grew too dry to even think of crying.

Sometimes I looked through my mother's memories in search of comfort.

Yet, even I tried to push it aside, other times I would think of Naruto and I would feel such a sense of duty that would it so that loving Minato wouldn't matter, and it wouldn't matter if I wasn't Kushina.

Naruto just had to be real.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Loved - <strong>**愛されたい****- End**

* * *

><p>AN: 愛されたい 'aisaretai' can also mean "You will be loved" or "I want love" and I thought it was fitting to name the chapter she meets Mito and Minato in as such.

Cough. I named her new teacher Root Beer. Cough.I didn't mean to update so quickly but I finished the 5th chapter quicker than expected and I'll be getting the chance to write the sixth chapter for the rest of the day. Meaning I may update again tomorrow but no promises! Thank you for the reviews, it made me very happy and I want to work harder!


	5. The Bloody Habanero - 赤い血潮のハバネロ

**Infamy - 汚名**

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><p><em><strong>5<strong>_

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><p>"Oi, Tomato!" The head of the Bully Kushina Committee (not that it actually has a name to it), Taichi hollered, "Be prepared for after class!"<p>

As if you'll be able to catch me in time to do what you want to do.

"Yeah, Tomato," added Kumai, the right hand lackey of Taichi. I hadn't intentionally learned their names, it just kind of stuck when it's all I could hear during break times. I resisted sighing as I went back to my studying. There wasn't much else to do besides that in this place when you had no friends. Not that I needed friends. I mean, I had Kenma and Ichigo.

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked and I froze. He was doing that weird thing again when he asked me things and interrupted me being busy ignoring him, "You know, things won't always be this bad. They just need some time warming up."

"Should I light them on fire and see if that warms them up?" I inquired, voice so flat you'd never be the wiser that I was kidding. Sort of.

Minato laughed. He _actually laughed,_ "I wouldn't go as far as to do that."

"Hmph," I replied with, promptly going back to studying. Or tried to. It felt like he wanted to say something, what with the way he was gazing at me. Please don't say that thing. Please. When he didn't, I couldn't help but wonder why. With pursed lips, I brushed my hair back behind my ears, giving me access at looking at him from the corner of my eye.

He looked transfixed.

_Why_ did he look that way? I couldn't even begin to fathom what could do this to him. He was acting so strange! Feeling self-conscious, I quickly shifted my hair back, just to have something in place so I didn't have to look at his stupid girly face. The staring didn't stop, in fact, I only felt it that much more. Fed up, I slammed my pencil onto the desk and turned to him, brows raised, "Yes?'

"Huh? Oh! I, uh, it's nothing."

Really? That's all he had to say? Suddenly, I felt I was dealing with a wimp.

Well, at least he had stopped staring.

* * *

><p><strong>The Bloody Habanero - <strong>**赤い血潮のハバネロ**

* * *

><p>Later that day, as I suffered quietly with boredom, Ruta-sensei decided to switch things up, bless his soul, and he wanted us to get in partners. At first, I felt as if Minato would <em>force<em> me to be his, and I would just make do being held hostage. That wasn't the case. At all.

Instead, a shy girl made her way up to him and asked in a sugar sweet voice, "Would you be alright with me being your partner?"

I have a feeling he glanced at me but I was too mortified that I had lost my plan A to care. No one else liked me in this room. I was suffering from the panic of, "Shit, they're gonna laugh at me" when a very beautiful raven haired girl walked up to me with such an air of dignity I could tell right away which clan she belonged to.

Mikoto Uchiha looked down her nose at me, "We're the only ones without a partner, Uzumaki-san."

With a tight smile, I nodded, "It seems that it true."

An awkward moment of silence.

Was she... Was she waiting for me to ask her to be my partner? I blinked up at her and noticed the barest hint of a blush surfacing on her pale white cheeks and I _melted_. She was utterly adorable.

I coughed, clearing my throat before I said, "We should be partners and totally take the number one spot."

"Hn," she seemed to agree with her monosyllabic reply.

I grinned a feral grin. This was _far_ better than Minato. I had an Uchiha genius on my team.

"Class!" Ruta-sensei called us to attention and I listened curiously, "As everyone looks to be partnered up, we'll now begin this little experiment."

Experiment? Don't tell me this was the science part of school. In my past life I had really sucked at the _experimenting_ part of labs.

"I will be matching up two pair of partners and forming 17 groups," Ruta-sensei continued, "Once in your groups, you guys will choose which pair of partners will be the traitors and the other group will be the loyalists. I will then issue the _reason_ for their treachery to that group only. Today is for planning on how you will play out the traitors actions and the loyalists proper response and tomorrow is when you will act it out in front of the rest of the class. Now, during your performance, you cannot say the reason, you can hope the audience picks it up by context clues. At the end of the skit, the rest of the class will guess what the reason was."

I frowned. This sounded like a problem waiting to happen. Wouldn't, if everyone took this as serious as the situation implied, it cause a rift of distrust in the classroom? I looked around, watching the juvenile kids whisper about which people would get together and I realized my fears were unfounded. They just weren't serious enough, were they? Maybe this was supposed to spark a hint of maturity in the rest of the class. If that was the case, then it was kind of smart.

This actually could be fun!

"Taichi-kun and Kumai-kun, you two are with Sayuri-chan and Miyu-chan..." Our teacher began to go down the list until finally he said my name, "Kushina-chan and Mikoto-chan, you two are with Minato-kun and Yuno-chan."

Oh, well, so Ruta-sensei hates me. Nice to know so that I can murder him in his sleep.

When the groups had gathered and we all began planning I was almost shaking with excitement.

As soon as Minato opened his mouth, with his eyes shining with good cheer and granola-like smile (geez, could he get anymore wimpy?), I interjected, "Mikoto-chan and I will be the loyalists!"

"Would you be able to do your best? Are you okay with that?" Minato asked, brows raised in surprise as he looked to me and then Yuno. Yuno shrugged, not caring which role she played.

"Who wants to be be the one who gets beat up?" I shot back, satisfied that I could pull a Naruto and punch the snot out of him.

"Alright," Minato nodded, "Yuno-chan and I will do our best as the traitors."

I felt a vein in my head throb. Why was he on first name basis with this girl? How dare he try to ruin the chances of Naruto's birth!? Oh, he was so gonna get it hard in the face when it was time to perform.

Ruta-sensei came around then, a small grin on his face, "So who is play the traitors?"

"Namikaze-san and his partner," I answered with a sneaky smile.

"Really? I would've pegged you as a-uh, never mind that," Ruta coughed and I narrowed my eyes. As if I was ever a traitor of Konoha. That would mean forsaking my clan and Mito.

"What's the traitor's reason?" Minato calmly asked and I swear I saw Yuno swoon. Yes, he would get his just-deserts.

"Ah, the two of you will be eloping and to quickly get out of your duties as shinobi, you will become missing nin."

I nearly scoffed. There surely was a special place in hell for Ruta-sensei. What's up with him giving out such lovey-dovey crap? It's as if he didn't want Naruto to save the world from Madara and his stupid plans.

"Why would we stop them?" I bitterly asked, "Can't we just leave the two love-birds alone and let them be bitten by a thousand venomous snakes only to die a slow painful death in each others arms?"

"As likely as that would happen," Mikoto said sarcastically, "We would have to bring them back to secure the information they have of Konoha, along with punish them for acknowledging their love for each other over their love for our village."

"Well said Mikoto-chan. Fitting for the top Kunoichi of this year."

I was still pouting when our teacher left and the four of us fell to silence. I sighed as I finally relented and muttered, "Love is overrated and cruel." My words triggered the memory of my family and my final moments with them.

"Ne, Uzumaki-san, let's try to have fun. Right, Minato-kun?" Yuno had said and I laid sharp eyes upon her.

"Don't order me around," I said quietly, my voice strict and unrelenting.

"But she's right, Kush-Uzumaki-san," Minato said, eyes serious and I shook my head.

"Why on Earth should this be fun?" I asked, thoroughly pissed off, "Do you even know how serious it is to be traitor? Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed? And yet, Ruta-sensei doesn't seem to understand that when he brings up _love_ as the reason to betray their village, it's disrespecting the traitors that had to do it because if they hadn't done what they'd done, their entire family would have been massacred. And you might say he had still done it for love, for his family. But I'm of the opinion that when you truly love someone, you fight for it _in_ the village that has sheltered you. You don't disgrace it's memory so easily."

Minato was quiet for a moment before nodding, "I understand where you're coming from. We should try to add onto the story then. Something like... Yuno-chan's family is threatening to disow-."

"She's leaving _them, _need I remind you," Mikoto murmured before she said, "What about...her family will seriously kill Namikaze-san if they get married."

I just sighed and gave a slight nod.

"Alright, it seems like a plan. Now, I think we should draw up a rough outline of what is going to be said," Minato suggested as he pulled out his notebook. It opened to the page of our notes and almost immediately, his face began to burn with a blush. I can't lie and say I didn't react the same way but I did. I quickly snatched the book and ripped the paper out before handing the notebook back. He looked at the wadded paper in my hand almost mournfully before he started to right on a fresh page.

"What did she just tear out?" Yuno asked curiously and I seriously wished to throttle her.

"Just math," I said lamely as I wrinkled my nose.

* * *

><p><strong>The Bloody Habanero - <strong>**赤い血潮のハバネロ**

* * *

><p>The next day, I didn't feel like being my usual, excitable self. Instead, I wanted nothing more than than to skip school but Mito was a stickler for perfect attendance.<p>

"Good morning class," Ruta-sensei addressed us but I couldn't honest care as I groaned when the rest of the class greeted him back. "We'll be reviewing the proper protocols for in the case that you have to deal with traitors. No matter the reason, it's the steps taken will be the same. However, depending on the reason and the severity of their actions, the punishment will differ..." Ruta-sensei droned on to explain everything I was already aware of. If there was a traitor, you didn't spare any chit-chat as you took them down.

The only reason Ruta-sensei brought up the traitors having a cause to do what they'd done was to train us to aptly take a look at the shinobi and decide that no reason was good enough to betray the village. It helped that we were brainwashed to think that way, and even myself saw that if life was good, there wasn't a good enough reason in the world to betray the people you loved.

"Alright," Ruta spoke with a renewed excitement, "You guys will be performing now, but first we'll be moving to the outside so you guys have more room in case you guys get a little physical."

"Yeah!" I cheered, jumping out of my desk, imagining the prospect of getting to break Minato's nose _again_. But it was no fun when iryo-nin were unfazed by such a minor wound that it hadn't taken long to heal.

"Settle down, Kushina-chan," Ruta-sensei chided.

"Yeah, Tomato, settle down!" Kumai shouted out loud and I whipped around with a glare.

"Like hell, 'ttebane!" I yelled back, face red. One day, this would stop, right? I mean, I can't be chubby faced forever, right? One day this short haircut will look good and not make me look chubbier. Or would I have long hair? I had to admit, long hair looked the best on Kushina. Hmm...

"Settle down, class, and let's go! Follow me!" Ruta-sensei ordered as he deflected the situation. If I was honest, I would have probably gotten physical if Kumai had gone on with calling me Tomato. I did have to defend my pride, no?

The herd of us followed him out to an empty training field. It wasn't the one we usually used for taijutsu class (that was in use for Kurosawa-sensei's other classes), instead it was tinier and hadn't been as well maintained. I frowned, with over grown grass, it could result in a lot of tripping. We were still in our first year of being in the Academy (although I'd already been going for the last two years), so we shouldn't be expected to be good enough to _not_ fumble over our tiny legs.

Eh, whatever, it would do just fine for my uses. If Minato tripped, I could just pack on the damage. Unbeknownst to myself, I sort of let out a small giggle as I cracked my knuckles.

"Who wants to go first?' Ruta-sensei asked and before I could eagerly jump up, Mikoto grabbed onto my arms as she drug me close to her. I looked back at her in surprise to see the barest hint of a blush on her cheeks. She looked embarrassed.

"I don't think the others are ready to go on," Mikoto muttered.

"How thoughtful of you," I murmured back, laying the sarcasm on thick. The others were as ready as I was. Mikoto was just _nervous_.

"What...? Oh, no, you g-got it wrong, Uzumaki-san," Mikoto insisted.

"Call me Kushina," I muttered before hugging her with a grin, "You're just so adorable!"

"Ah! Uzum-Kushina-san!" I could nearly feel her face heat up as I latched onto her tightly.

"Ne, we should be friends, Mikoto-chan," I guess it sort of rude to address her so familiarly but she was just adorable!

"If it will get you to let go, then yes, Kushina-_chan_," Her own voice was sarcastic and I stepped back, marveling at how quickly she caught on.

"If the two girls back there would stop talking, then Izumi's group, start."

From then on, it was all pretty boring as we watched bad acting and the somewhat awkward take down of the traitors. Then, we all guessed. The guessing was the fun part, mostly because this class contained idiot and no I'm not talking about myself. Anyway, the idiots always said the stupidest things, which made everyone laugh. I liked the sound of loud laughter. It reminded me of home.

As soon as it was our turn, being the last ones to go, the entire class began to laugh.

"Good luck up there Tomato!" One person called.

"Yeah, don't break a leg!"

"It's 'Break a leg', you idiot!" I yelled back, face red with the flush that was always brought on when I got angry.

"Let's just get started," Minato interjected with and I turned my glare towards him before I relented.

"_Fine_."

The four of us got into position and Yuno cleared her throat before saying in stiff voice, "You can't stop us!"

"We can," I replied with in a half-hearted monotone voice, "And we will." Mikoto nudged me with her foot and I sighed out, "We will bring you back no matter what."

"Before that, you'll have to bring us down fighting," Minato said in a gentle, wimpy voice. He was trying to sound determined, wasn't he? I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled forth just as Mikoto kicked me even harder.

"That's right!" Yuno suddenly burst out with, coming to clutch onto Minato's arm. I found myself glaring passionately at the contact. Stupid Minato. If anything, it would be _his_ fault that Naruto wouldn't be born. Tch, cheating husband.

"Fighting back is useless," I ground out in a growl.

"No!" Yuno cried, "They'll kill him if we go back."

"As if we care!" Mikoto yelled back, finally breaking out of her shell.

"Yeah," I agreed. As if we care that Minato would die a slow painful death. I cracked my knuckles.

"You can't stop our desire," Minato replied with, face a vibrant red.

"God, you're so flaky!" I shouted, "You can't just ditch us!"

"How are we ditching?" Yuno stupidly said and suddenly I felt as if I had really caught Minato cheating. Yuno, this stupid, stupid mistress. Just because he's the Hokage doesn't mean he's all that great.

With a venomous voice, I murmured, "Leaving your duties as shinobi duties! Leaving your family! Leaving your village!"

"As if we care about that now that we have each other. Ne, let's just fight them and leave," Yuno suggested and the blonde boy looked pretty troubled. Maybe it was the shock at having been caught by the wife.

"Why should we listen to you?" Minato asked, trying to seem defiant. I laughed and then grinned a feral grin just as my head began to feel light.

"I'm your wife and I'm the only one that's allowed to love you, Mina-kun, 'ttebane!" I shouted, my voice passionate even while he just froze. It got so silent that you could hear a pin drop, and the air felt heavy with confusion. Minato was still frozen, eyes wide. With a blush, I realized that I had totally screwed everything up, I went on, trying to save the situation, "Why are you trying to leave when you have a child at home named Naruto!" Oh, shit. Did I really just say that out loud?

What was the butterfly effect again? One simple action could alter the entire future? Well, shit, I think I might have just killed Naruto.

"What are you talking about?" Yuno said, her eyes flashing with anger, "Mina-kun is mine!"

Oh, not on _my_ watch, "No, you're just the girl who is trying to keep him away from his _loving_ family, ttebane!" Damn, this was just a mess. Nothing could save us now. Naruto was dead. The world would live eternally in slumber. I'm such a screw up.

"Why would we name our kid Naruto?" Minato randomly asked, breaking from the performance. He was just so confused that it was kind of cu-gross. I forced a grin.

"Oh, sweetie, I understand now. Your amnesia's acting up," I laughed playfully as I went up to the blonde and wrenched him from Yuno's arms, "We named him that to signify our first date at Ichiraku's, 'ttebane!" And totally not because your teacher wrote a book.

"Oh, that's how it is," Minato murmured, the confusion in his eyes disappearing as he laughed, "Ne, let's go get ramen right now!"

How could it be? Was this for real? Minato wasn't a genius? In fact, he was an idiot.

"Let's go with Mikoto-chan," I spluttered out as I came to grip her arm too, "No punishment needed if there wasn't a crime! The end!"

It was almost painful how awkward the silence was... that is, until the entire class burst into laughter.

"Your so funny, Tomato!" a voice called out and I recognized her as Misaki, an Akimichi that always said 'tomato' as if it was a nice nickname. My face flamed brightly as the kids continued to make fun of me. Misaki was alright but the other kids were just vicious.

"Okay...," Ruta-sensei started, probably realizing then what a big mistake he'd made bringing love into the equation, "Well, um, class... can you guys guess what was the reason?"

"They were eloping and Namikaze-kun was running from his murderous child?" Souta, a pretty bland kid, said.

Grinning, I gave two thumbs up, "Bingo!"

"Wait, wasn't it because Tomato was brainwashing Namikaze-kun and his true love for Yuno was in danger?"

"Bi-No way, 'ttebane!" I yelled at Yasu, the kid who had spoken.

"Ah! Yasu-kun is right!" Taichi interjected, "Tomato is trying to brainwash us!"

"No, I'm no-!" Before I could even properly defend myself, Mikoto interjected.

"Are we done here, Ruta-sensei?" She was saying, face looking calmly passive.

"I suppose you are. But, Kushina-chan, I strongly suggest you leave your personal issues at the front door."

With a heated face I really couldn't deny what he was saying so I just toughed it out, "Yes..."

* * *

><p><strong>The Bloody Habanero - <strong>**赤い血潮のハバネロ**

* * *

><p>"Oi! Tomato!" Taichi called just as school ended but I wasted no time on him as I quickly exited the classroom and didn't even suspect that I was being followed. I made my way out of the school and walked my usual way to the Senju clan home. Thinking back on it now, I probably should have been aware that something like this would have happened if I wasn't careful.<p>

Just as I was nearing my destination, Taichi and some dude with his hitai ate approached me. With narrowed eyes, I assessed them. I would be fighting them, I knew it. Yet back in Uzushio, despite it being weeks ago, I had killed fully grown men. They didn't scare me. I just didn't want to bloody the clothes Mito had spent so much time on making.

"We told you to be prepared yesterday," Taichi growled out, "But you ignored us and didn't stay after school. So today we've decided to find you instead."

"I see you've brought company," I pointed out.

"He's my older brother, Taka. He's already a _genin_," Taichi stressed the last word, as if it meant anything to me. But it was so like him, to get someone big and bad to take care of his messes. He wouldn't ever make a good shinobi.

"Well, shall we play?" I inquired darkly. It would be better to just beat the hell out of them and get them to leave me alone once and for all. I cracked my knuckles.

"You're just a weak little girl, aren't you?" Taka had said and I glared at him, knowing I could take him.

"Oh, then why would you hurt, poor 'ole me?" I asked sweetly as he was taken by surprise.

"Whatever, you're still in the Academy, _I_ made genin already," Taka bragged as he shot forward. I looked around, realizing we were in the sight of the Senju clan house. If anyone came out, Mito would be told that I'd been fighting. With my eyes searching for a way to lead him away from the place I saw the only way to go was the trees.

I didn't walk of trees often, but I had done it before when I had needed to run away from a pursuing Kenma. Perfect. As swiftly as possible, I ran up the side of the closest sakura tree and hopped onto the branch. Taka was persistent in following me as I made my way across the expansive area of trees.

I didn't stop until a shuriken appeared just above my head. Oh, so he was going to fight dirty. Well, two could play at that.

I quickly pulled out the shuriken, and tossed it back. Taka disappeared in a flash of smoke, leaving behind a block of wood. Tch, just a replacement jutsu. Wasting no time, I set my eyes on looking for Taka and found him hiding behind a tree. Just for the sake of showing off, I flipped my body down onto the forest floor.

"Come out, Taka! Let's settle this face to face," I called and kept a distinctive eye on his hiding spot. He was casting a jutsu by the looks of his hand movements and for this time, as a clone appeared before me, I let myself caught, as the clone placed one hand on my arm and the other on my throat. It didn't take long to draw him out like that as the clone dispersed and Taka grabbed a handful of my hair.

I winced, as he dug in deeply. Having such short hair wasn't looking to be such a good idea anymore when it was so close to the scalp.

"What ugly hair!" Taka tried to insult me and I had to roll my eyes. He was trying so hard that even I had to give him credit. But I wanted to get this over and done with. So without further ado, I swiftly ripped my hair away, leaving a scattering of red strains in the air. Before they even began to float away, I was up in the air, having bounced off his chest. He easily fell to the ground and before long, I had landed on his chest.

The air whooshed out of him but I wasn't finished. I climbed on top of me as I charged my fist with chakra. When my fist came down on his face, it made a satisfying crack. "What's that about my hair being ugly!? As if your own is much better! I admit that I look like a tomato but if you ask me, I'll make you look like a _squashed_ tomato!" I yelled at him as I continued to hit him in the face. "You will never insult my treasure again, you hear?"

Thoroughly exhausted after another minute of this, I sat up, flicking the wet blood off my hand as I looked up to see a horrified Taichi. With a whimper, he took off in the other direction, screaming at the top of his lungs, "It's the bloody habanero!

Unfazed, I stood up, and glancing up as I felt eyes watching me. With a scowl, I met the blue orbs of Minato. "Was that entertaining to you?" I demanded to to know.

"Wha-? No! I mea-." He spluttered and I just shook my head.

"Whatever, I need to clean up," I muttered as I sprinted away from the scene, not even caring that I had ruined Taka's face. Well, I have actually been doing him a favor. He wasn't that good-looking to begin with.

"Wait!" Minato called and I jumped, surprised that he'd even followed me. Still, I waited impatiently as he caught up with me, "I was serious about us getting ramen together."

My brow furrowed. He didn't do this in the canon, did he? If I accepted... how much would the future change?

"N-." My words fell away as Minato unexpectedly grabbed onto my arm. My eyes widened, "Wh-what are you doing!?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I wanted to step in but I knew you could handle it. So let me apologize by treating you to ramen."

"F-fine, but I want to c-clean up," I stammered out, face red as I focused on the fact that Minato was actually touching me, "Let's eat ramen tomorrow." The bastard.

Minato frowned but then smiled his gentle, bright smile, "Deal."

With that, I shoved him away and stepped back, "Flaky, cheating hus-," I cut myself off as I did my best to calm down, "Just don't forget, 'ttebane!"With my face flaming and my head feeling light, I took off in the direction of the Senju clan house.

"I won't!" He called to me and I really begged that he would.

* * *

><p><strong>The Bloody Habanero - <strong>**赤い血潮のハバネロ**

* * *

><p>When I got home, doing my best to hide my bloodied clothes, I dodged around the maids and the clan members as I hoped I wouldn't be seen. I'd even almost made it to the bathroom successfully but then footsteps round the corner and I was suddenly knocked to the floor by huge breasts. <em>Shit<em>.

"Ah, Kushina-chan? What are you doing covered in so much blood?"

"Tsu-Tsunade-san," I greeted with a forced smile, "this blood is nothing. Just from a stupid boy."

The iryo-nin lifted a brow, "I do hope he's alive."

I frowned, "I_ think_ his brother went to get help..."

Tsunade snorted, "Why don't you explain in more detail while we get you cleaned up."

With hopeful, sparkling eyes, I grinned, "Un!" Tsunade was officially my new hero.

At first, I tried to avoid her, completely and utterly terrified of the woman that would become the _real_ first female hokage. But as time went on and I got used to her, she became a friend, kind of. She was still intimidating, to say the least, but she was kind. And she could keep a secret. Probably.

"Ne, Tsunade-san," I started as soon as I took off my clothes, the hot water running in the tub, but as I turned to see her undressing herself I totally froze, face pale. Did she intend to take a bath with me? Apparently yes, as her last article of clothing fell into the hamper.

"What is it, Kushina-chan?" Tsunade asked and I quickly jumped into the bath, ducking underneath the water as it splashed around me. It was one thing to get naked in front of someone, but it was another thing entirely to see someone naked. My face was burning with the added heat of the tub.

When I sat up for air, pushing aside my soaked bangs, I was glad to see that Tsunade had entered the tub too. The water rose up around her but it did help to cover her up. Soon I would get over this blush of mine, _soon_.

"Were you going to ask me something?" Tsunade inquired once more.

"Oh yeah, so I was wondering if you could help me keep this a secret from Mito-sama."

"Us bathing together? She'd hardly care about that," Tsunade snort and I shook my head.

"I mean the fact that I was fighting. I don't want her to worry."

"Sure, but first..." The busty blonde grinned, "Let me wash your back!" With that, Tsunade came forward and grabbed onto my body and began to tickle. I couldn't help the hysteric laughter that bubbled up as I fought to breathe.

"Ts-."

"Resistance is futile, Kushina-chan!" Tsunade laughed mischievously as I splashed around in the tub.

"He-."

"Had enough?" Tsunade asked and I frantically nodded, "Then stop being so formal, you twerp. Call me big sis."

"Tsunade-nee?"

"Yup! But I still do want to wash your back later. Sisterly bonding, ne?"

"Yeah!" I cheered and my eyes caught the sight of my clothes, "Tsunade-nee?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think that you can help me with my clothes? I know a seal that can get rid of blood stains but I don't have the chakra reserves to do it. All you would have to do is charge the seal with chakra."

"Sure, wouldn't want you to wear yourself out," She cheerfully agreed and I couldn't help but feel warm. When most of your time was spent being hated by your classmates, it did get pretty exhausting.

But things were looking up, if I ignored the foreboding meeting I had with Minato tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>The Bloody Habanero - <strong>**赤い血潮のハバネロ**

* * *

><p>"So how was school," Mito asked as she brushed out my hair. Biting my lip, I considered what to tell her.<p>

"I made a new friend today," I giddily informed her, "She's absolutely, positively _adorable_."

"What's her name?" Mito calmly asked and I squirmed with excitement.

"Mikoto Uchiha," I announced.

"A cute Uchiha? She must be really something... I once knew a cute Uchiha," Mito suddenly added on in a melancholic way.

"What was his name?"

"Why he was my husbands _best_ friend," Mito declared, "He scruffy around the edges but the thing about Uchiha is that they hide a heart of gold beneath that rough skin."

"Didn't he try to kill Hashirama-sama, 'ttebane!?" I asked, alarmed that Mito was actually speaking of Madara _fondly_.

"His good intentions were there. He just simply wanted peace after those gruesome clan wars. Yet his ideas caused opposition," She cleared her throat, "He was afraid that the Senju clan was practicing too much dominance. Looking back, I can see he was right," Mito sighed.

"So he was actually a good guy?"

"Most people get misunderstood along the way, so I don't believe he was truly horrible. However, intentions and actions are different things entirely. He paid gravely for his mistakes."

I guess Mito had a point.

"Now, did anything else happen in school?" Mito prompted, patting my hair.

"Hmm... I've decided to grow out my hair!" I declared and Mito snorted.

"You'll be very beautiful, Kushina-chan."

"Thanks!" I beamed before a scowl fell into place, "I hate to ask this, but I'll need an allowance for tomorrow."

"Why do you sound so upset?" She asked me, puzzled, "How much will you be needing?"

I sighed, coming to face her as my frown stayed in place, "This stupid boy asked me to go to Ichiraku's after school, 'ttabane! He's so wimpy, I don't even know how he thought he could ask without getting my fist in his face. I broke his nose, dattebane, and I can do it again!"

Mito blinked before her laughter bubbled to the surface, "At yet you still said yes? Did you punch him?"

"Obaa-san," I whined, my face bright red, "This is a serious matter."

"Does he have a newly broken nose?"

"T-totally," I sputtered out, "H-he didn't even stand a chance!"

"Ah, Kushina-chan, your such a cute liar."

"I'm not!" I denied, my head feeling light as I realized that I was stuck in going out with Minato tomorrow, "Are you going to give me an allowance?"

"Of course! I'll leave an envelope of money with Yanagi-san."

"Thank you," I mumbled before standing up to leave the room, "I'm going to sleep, good night, Obaa-san!"

"Rest well! Your very first date is tomorrow!" Mito called back.

I shrugged it off, not about to rise to a tease.

"What's this I hear about you on a date?" Tsunade's voice interjected just as I rounded the corner to my room. I whipped around, eyes wide.

"You heard nothing!" I yelled back to her, covering my ears as I ran away to my room, childishly crying out, "La, la, la, la!"

I could still distantly hear Tsunade's hysteric laughter.

That night, I was restless with thoughts of the distant past, thinking only of the death of Minato. _La, la, la, la._ I didn't want to hear it. I _really_ didn't want to feel it.

_La, la, la._

* * *

><p><strong>The Bloody Habanero - <strong>**赤い血潮のハバネロ****- End**

* * *

><p>AN: So this isn't exactly how it went down in the anime (I was too lazy to rewatch the episode it took place in), and the manga wasn't very detailed in the explanation of_ how_ she got her nickname/moniker. So I just wrote what felt right. Also, I stuck with The Bloody Habanero because it has a nicer ring to it in English than the other translations like "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero".

I don't know when I'll update this story next, I'm only half way finished with the next chapter and I have two days of school, both days I won't get to write. Then I have thanksgiving break which will be my best bet to get a chapter in. The problem I face is that my sister and I share a computer and so because of that my time is drastically limited. I will be getting a laptop soon but my updates will be irregular until then.


	6. Don't Forget - 忘れないように

**Infamy - ****汚名**

* * *

><p><em><strong>6<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Dattebane!" I roared as I entered the classroom, noticing how all of my classmates flinched. The tale of The Bloody Habanero had spread far and wide. I guess this is what it was like being infamous. While I made my way over to the Academy this morning, it was almost funny, chuunin and other higher ranked shinobi observed me with interest from afar. Genin were a different story. They were freshly terrified over what I had done to a person in their ranks.<p>

Taka was just fine too. Apparently his brother had never come back with help, but that flaky blonde headed boy had gone back to take care of him. My beating had gotten so bad that the iryo-nin had to even rearrange his face and was hoping it would heal back correctly. Hmm, maybe I had done him a favor? His ugly face could possibly be... moderate. Dude, I could get him laid.

"Good morning, Mikoto-chan!" I called to the raven haired girl as she tried to look anywhere but my face. She was blushing though, so I knew she wasn't afraid of me. Besides, if I took a look around, none of the clan kids were fazed, just curious.

Whatever. I was in a good mood and I wouldn't let anything ruin it. Skipping to my seat, I pointedly ignored Minato as I sat down Take that, weirdo blonde. I could still feel his gaze but I just focused on my brand new notebook. Completely Minato free! It was exciting.

"All right, settle down, class," Ruta-sensei addressed us as he stood at the front of the class, "Today we'll be discussing chakra control. Most of you have never been able to mold chakra at all, and that will be remedied, hopefully, today."

Silently, I was mourning the good mood I had been in. Soon, I would be just bored. Plain bored. It almost made me resent Mito's decision to forgo an aptitude test just so I'd stay within my age group. Most of what Ruta-sensei was teaching at this point felt almost as if he was beating a broken drum.

I huffed out a sigh and turned to my notebook for solace, opening it up with the intention to practice my skills. However, being unexpectedly intrusive, Minato slid closer to me, gently grabbing the notebook from hands as he readied his pen.

'I didn't forget,' he wrote.

W-What a stupid boy!

Agitated, I found myself wanting to burn the notebook. Instead, I replied to him with a simple, 'I didn't forget either, stupid.'. The only thing, however, was that it was in English, the language that always felt the most natural to me due to the lifetime spent with it. My handwriting was a sure hell of a lot better with it.

I grinned, just thinking of the puzzled face Minato would have. But I couldn't look. I need to _stop_ looking and thinking about him. That was my problem, indeed. I mean, the future wasn't exactly foreboding at this current moment in time. I didn't need to waste my precious on such silly stuff. I sorely wish I hadn't ever agreed to meet up with that idiot blonde for ramen. It didn't even matter that I had yet to eat the ramen in Konoha. I had a feeling it couldn't beat Uzushio's.

For some very strange reason, ramen had stood as a frequent craving of all Uzumaki and I suppose that gene skipped out on me. I liked the stuff but I was more of a girl who liked high calorie sweets much more than anything else. It helped that I was active enough to keep up such a diet.

Ah, I missed Mika's cooking... At that thought, it sent an ache in my heart and that only led to thoughts of the family I had lost. I had been trying not to feel it, the feeling of grief. So far I had done everything to keep my mind busy and away from thoughts of home. I bit my lip.

This class couldn't end sooner.

Still, it was good to get a time to practice my seals.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't Forget - <strong>**忘れないように**

* * *

><p>Class was ending, I could feel it.<p>

With tense shoulders, I wanted to do everything to run away and hide. The good mood was gone, wiped out by the prospect that I just didn't know how to _function_ with Minato around, which was highly embarrassing. I considered myself a rather social person. This sudden lack of friends wasn't exactly easy to deal with, as much as I lied to myself. But now I had forced - ahem, persuaded Mikoto to be my friend. All that was left to do was to become her _best_ friend.

But how to approach Mikoto was beyond me. I just wished Ruta-sensei would do another group project so that I could snatch up the Uchiha. Knowing how intimidating she could be, it wasn't surprising that she didn't have any friends besides me so I suppose I was on the right track. I just needed to somehow convince her that bringing me home to her house was acceptable. Uwaaah, maybe we could have slumber parties! Having a female friend was going to be so much fun! Wait... I was forgetting something.

Oh yeah, Minato.

I could do nothing as class came to a close and I gazed at him reproachfully, wishing to be anywhere but there.

"Does what you wrote mean that you didn't forget?" Minato asked, adorably—cough—stupidly confused. It was almost like a betrayal that my mind slipped up and it was entirely his fault.

"I wonder," I muttered and he shifted on his feet awkwardly. He didn't know what to do. Man, he was so flaky. Hopping up, I grabbed onto his arm, "Come on, let's go."

"A-Alright," Minato looked largely conflicted but all that mattered was just sitting down, eating a bowl of ramen, and forgetting that this day ever existed.

Wait.

Letting go of his arm as if it burned me, I turned around to see Mikoto packing up her textbooks together and I hopped toward her with mischievous grin. She looked up, her eyes widening only a tiny bit but it was enough to see that she was surprised.

"Come with Mi-Namikaze-san and I to Ichiraku's," I demanded—I mean, requested.

Mikoto's eyes widened a centimeter more as she looked speechless. She swallowed, titled her head, and swallowed once more before, muttering out, "If it's what you want, than that's acceptable."

"Yeah!" I cheered, jumping with excitement. I had avoided being alone with Minato _and_ had successfully asked Mikoto out. Two bird with one stone, as they say. Grinning like Cheshire Cat, I marched back to a confused Minato and announced her joining us. He looked only slightly put off but that must have been from the fact that they both didn't know each other very well.

I could easily remedy that!

With that setup, the three of us walked together, me placed in the middle, as we headed to the busiest part of Konoha, the market and entertainment section. We approached the little ramen stall easy enough as we each took a seat on one of the stools. The man attending the stall even seemed to be expecting us, as he gave a welcoming smile and even patted Minato on the head, before handing him a bowl of ramen. Looks like he was a regular.

"So what can I get for one of my most loyal customers and his pretty friends."

"I'm not his friend," I deadpanned, "We've been forced together due to circumstances beyond my control." And it was true. Stupid special chakra and being reincarnated.

The man blinked before he gave a gutsy laugh, "This ones a keeper! Is she always this serious?"

I had to think about that. Had I honestly been my usual happy-go-lucky self in Konoha? That would be a sincere no. The closest I'd ever gotten to acting like I had in Uzushio had been when I was around Mito. She reminded me so much of my mother that it had made me relax almost instantly. It was almost like being back home when I was around. But I made a point of not replacing Satsuki with her. Mito was more like a grandmother than anything. I'd never had a grandmother in this life, but in the past one I had .

But was I always serious? The answer was in a between state. I had the tendency to gloomy with my thoughts but my actions expressed an excitable Uzumaki kunoichi. I pouted, realizing that I wasn't going to be the life of the party any time soon.

"I'm still adjusting to life in Konoha," I mumbled as the discussion had lulled to a stop.

"Oh? Where are you from?"

"Uzushio!" I declared, the thought of my island making my heart sore. One way to get me happy, I suppose, was to bring up my home. But then again, there was that stab of grief.

"Wasn't there just an attack there?" Mikoto asked, thoughtful.

"Yeah," I simply said as I dodged giving even more information about it, "An order of miso ramen, please!"

"The same for me," Mikoto requested, her cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes avidly watching in anticipation as the stall owner set to work. As the aroma's of the savory ramen wafted up, it was almost like being in Uzushio again. I breathed in, feeling my stomach growl. It smelled rather similar to Uzushio styled ramen. I watched the steps he took in preparing it, eyes wide.

"Has any of your family members been?" I asked, blatantly curious.

"To Uzushio? My father went there. I suppose this is where he got the recipe. We were just barely making it to meet ends meet and then father got the chance to visit that island and then everything changed. He came back and we got a new lease on life making ramen. Of course, since then, the recipe has changed since then. It caters to the taste of the people of Konoha, after all," the man was saying, hands working swiftly as he got two bowls prepared. Before long, I had a steaming serving of ramen right in front of me. I sniffed it, the genuine smells of Uzushio bringing me back to the sea breeze, the vast abundance of crops and the bright refreshing view of birds soaring in the air.

I wanted to cry.

Biting my lip, I strengthened my resolve to fill my stomach as I picked up my chopsticks. With a timid expression, I gathered noodles, and before I could think twice, I shoved it in my mouth, slurping up the rest. With wide eyes I realized that I _did_ taste like the food I would eat on special occasions with my family. The flavor was there, just slightly watered down. It made sense. Uzushio was a place of spices and powerful, packing flavors. On many occasions I had seen foreigners taking a bite, only to spit it out, eyes wide with surprise.

I took another gulp, savoring it this time. With a grin, I turned to see how Mikoto was doing. Her eyes gleamed as I had never seen before. She was so cute. Speaking of cute...cough. _Annoying_, I looked to Minato, noticing that he was a bit more subdued then usual, his usually vibrantly kind spirit looking weak. With a pout, I nudged him. He jumped and I grinned.

"You come here often?" I asked, deciding that for today I would call a truce. I mean, he was already looking down as it was.

"Everyday," the stall owner quipped and I swiveled to look at him in shock.

"That isn't healthy," I found myself chiding, "Don't you get tired of it?"

Minato considered this, shaking his head with a small smile, "I can't say that I have."

I frowned, "No wonder you're so weak and wimpy."

"Weak?"the stall owner asked, curious, "I thought you were at the top of your class."

"He is," Mikoto said, "I think she's referring to when she broke his nose."

"Broken nose...? Wait," the ramen chef snapped his fingers, "You're the girl Minato was so chatty about!"

"Chatty?" I was curious, "What did he say? Tell me!" I could almost imagine the blonde boy talking about how much stronger and cooler I was then he was.

"No," Minato interjected, his eyes panicked, "Don't tell her anything."

"Please?" I begged and the man just helplessly shrugged, deflating my excitement.

"All I can say is that I agree with him about the hair," he grinned and I touched it self-consciously. What if it looked bad? Gross, even. It had been a mistake to cut it, that much was certain. Short hair and chubby faces didn't go well together. With a pout, I wished it would grow faster. I sent a glare to Minato, who just merely sat up with jolt and stared at his bowl of ramen. I continued to glare at him, and I was surprised to see him glancing at me from the corner of his eye. His cheeks were red.

"It's still not healthy," I found myself saying as I took another bite.

"I agree," Mikoto said, "A proper diet for a boy his age and in his circumstances would be a structured intake of all food groups and not just wheat and a couple of toppings. Otherwise he could jeopardize his physical training."

"You hear that?" I turned to Minato with a pout, "Right now I can beat you in a spar and you wouldn't be able to put up a decent fight at all."

"I don't really know how to cook," Minato admitted sheepishly and I blanched as I realized that _duh_, Minato never had anybody around to teach him.

"I'll cook for you."

It was out before I could think better of it and the blonde boy stiffened in surprise, eyes wide. I knew this face very well. It seemed every time I opened my mouth I was not only shocking him, I had been catching myself unprepared as well.

"I-I mean," I sputtered, "It's the least I could do for my opponent," that came out wrong, "for another prospective Hokage," that didn't work out so well either, "I mean, it's the least I could do for a friend," I finally settled on, agitated beyond all reason that I had to explain myself, "and of course I'll make some for Mikoto too."

"Are you even good at cooking?" the raven-haired girl asked and I considered her question with a smile.

"Of course I am!" I wasn't lying either, I had been helping Satsuki prepare entire meals, doing my fair share. It also helped that I had all the memories of my mother's to call upon at will when I wanted recipes she had never gotten around to cooking.

"That would be... I wouldn't want to infringe," Minato ended up saying and I hit him none too gently. He winced, only empowering my decision to make food for him.

"The Hokage will, sooner or later, ask for help on occasions. It can't be easy dealing with mountains of paperwork," although I was certain he'd enjoy that part, "and unruly, hyper aware, paranoid ninja of all ages. So buck up and accept my generosity, 'ttebane!" The word '_wimp_' was left unsaid but it was thoroughly intended.

"Thank you," Minato softly said, a brilliantly soft smile placed on his lips.

It was enough to make my face heat up. Stupid, aggravating boy.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't Forget - <strong>**忘れないように**

* * *

><p>"Don't expect to get it right on the first try," Mito murmured, watching as I drew the first level of the seal. She was finally teaching me offensive fuinjutsu and it was exciting. First of all, it was a seal that, for all intents and purposes, was created to place to store actual weapons inside the body. It was highly dangerous, however, and Mito was keeping an avid watch on my every move.<p>

"Once I'm able to draw the seal, how will I be able to seal weapons in my body without getting hurt?"

"You see, Kushina-chan, this is where I'll be teaching you about things we like to call 'vacuums'. They serve as openings to dimensions that you contain within your body. These dimensions will also be the place the Kyuubi will be contained. How the body is connected to these vacuums and dimensions is through your chakra coils."

I frowned, "How would I find one of these vacuums?"

"Through meditation."

The response threw me off guard. The Uzumaki weren't calm people by nature, so how would I even manage to do something like meditation was beyond me. Concentrating to learn seals was hard enough as it was.

Mito laughed at my expression, "It won't be easy but if you manage to do this, then you'll have proved to be on the track to becoming a seals master and specializing in fuinjutsu."

"Ne, do you think I'll ever be as good as you?" I asked, my eyes twinkling with the idea.

Mito considered this, expression thoughtful before she spoke, "The idea of fuinjutsu is very simple. Its the ability to store things within other things. We open up these vacuums and these dimensions in things that aren't even living. However, when your able to innovate on such a simple idea, then that's when I believe you would be able to surpass me."

I wondered if I was even that creative, "I'll do my best."

Mito smiled, "First, you have to learn this seal. Ah, you made them uneven," the aged woman then gently drew on the paper in front of her, "Like this, it curves."

"Oh!" I grinned as I started over once again.

"Very nice. Your calligraphy teacher must have taught you well."

I thought of the ever so diligent Satsuki and grinned, she _had_ taught me well.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't Forget - <strong>**忘れないように**

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-nee!" I called to the back of the retreating blonde as she walked with Nawaki, her little brother. I still didn't like being around him, no matter how nice he was. He was like a ticking time bomb. I knew he would die, but I wasn't exactly sure when. I didn't want to be emotionally invested in brunette, I had already given too much of myself over to the people I had lost in Uzushio. They both turned, him with a smile and Tsunade with a grin.<p>

"Kushina-chan!" She enveloped me in a hug as I struggled to breath.

"It's nice to see you, Kushina-chan," Nawaki pleasantly said and I snuggled deeper into Tsunade's stomach, wanting nothing more then for him to go away. Why did these people keep popping up and ruining the illusion that everything was fine? Minato was one thing, we would die together, if I couldn't stop it. But people like Nawaki were different. I would have to live with more death. Sure, death is inevitable. But why did I have to live in a world where it happened sooner rather than later?

"Hello, Nawaki-san," I grudgingly greeted as I pulled away from Tsunade's monstrous strength.

"How was your date?" Tsunade asked and I flushed beat red.

"It wasn't a date!" I vehemently denied, "Besides, I ended up bringing Mikoto-chan with us."

"That Uchiha girl?" At my nod, Tsunade went on, "She's always so grumpy. How did you get her to go along?"

"I just asked."

"You must have magic people powers," Tsunade snorted, "You always somehow manage to get people involved with your messes."

"I don't make messes!" I shouted, surprised. I was serious. I cleaned when I got the chance to and I did my best to not burden the others.

The Slug Princess just laughed, "Moving on, did you want anything?"

"Train me!"

That threw her for a new one as she blinked in shock, "You want to become an iryo-nin? What about becoming a seals master?"

I nodded, "Well, I just want to know the basics at least." I didn't tell her that I was, for the first time in this world, thinking of the future. Last night, the thoughts had plagued me. If I could learn to heal then maybe... Maybe I would be able to save... I needed to learn, to at least try. What other reason had I been placed here, with this knowledge?

"I'll be tough on you," Tsunade began, "and during our lessons you can't call me so familiarly. I will be your teacher for now, and if you begin to show promise, I'll think of taking you on as an apprentice."

"Really?" My voice squeaked, and the blonde nodded.

"It will be hard, and very taxing. You'll be spending any free time with me, your training schedule with Mito-san will not be changing and if I see you slacking off in any of your studies, I'll drop you."

"Yes!" I didn't mind that at all. In fact, that sounded very nice to me. Now I had an excuse when, if, Minato ever asked me out again. That reminded me, I would have to figure out a way to fit making a bento into that time constraint.

"Good, we'll start tomorrow as soon as you get home."

"Yes!"

* * *

><p><strong>Don't Forget - <strong>**忘れないように**

* * *

><p>The next day, armed with a fully stuffed, stacked four layer bento, I didn't pay any mind to the stares as I set the monstrosity into my cube. It was so big, however, that I ended up having to take out my outside shoes and place them in an empty one. With that, I slipped on my inside shoes and made my way to my seat next to Minato. He's blue eyes were very curious and I grinned.<p>

"Lunch will be good," I informed him, thinking of all the things I made. Fried rice, shrimp, a steamed assortment of finely cut and seasoned vegetables, an assortment of my favorite fruits, pickled plum onigiri, and three little cakes. The fourth layer of the box, however, was a mystery and would stay as such till the end of the day and I gave it to Minato.

"So you had been serious," Minato blandly commented and I nodded, excited for lunch time. It didn't matter that Minato would be there. This was the perfect chance to get Mikoto realize that I had good features other than being smart. I didn't want her to think that's all I was. Wait a second...what did she think of me!? This was very disconcerting.

"Hmm," I replied with, preoccupied.

"What kind of things did you make?" Minato asked and I faced him, considering if I should tell him.

"It's a surprise," I decided to say, mischievously and by look on his face I could tell he was dying to know. I grinned, this was the best kind of reaction. Well, actually the best kind of reaction would be something I could hit him for. But knowing him, that was unlikely.

As soon as Ruta-sensei called the class to attention and he started on a lesson I had already learned ages ago, I found myself with my notebook once more, practicing seals. I felt Minato watching but I knew it wasn't my face. He was watching my hands. Oh yeah, Minato was actually into fuinjutsu. I glanced up to see where the class was at and then at Minato, who I knew had been just as bored as I was.

Why not?

I started on a new page and thought of the simplest seal. The memory seal. Biting my lip, I drew the first layer, and wrote a side note, 'this is a seal to enhance the ability to remember things.' I then went on to explain how seals were formed, how the numbers had to match up or otherwise the seal would be a dud. I watched his eyes and the curve of his lip as his interest grew. Numbers really could draw the boy in.

Before long, I had him practicing drawing it and watched in fascination as he quickly picked it up. He had even mastered it faster than Kenma had, in the hour we had spent indoors with Ruta-sensei. I had to take back when I called him stupid. He may be weak and wimpy, but he was _smart_. I had a nagging feeling that it was like this with everything given to him to learned. He truly was a prodigy. Just as class was ending and we switched to taijutsu, I had been showing him a new seal, one which had taken me about two days to master.

I had a feeling it wouldn't even take him a day as his eyes scanned it and he got it perfectly on his third try. It could have just been a fluke but from just that I could tell that if left to his own devices and basic explanations for things, he could surpass me within the year. So, yeah, my ego was deflated. I wasn't particularly competitive, joking aside, but with Minato it was different. I had to be better than him or else we couldn't stand as equals. Infuriatingly enough, I knew for a fact that he didn't see me as a rival. Just a girl with vibrant red hair.

Lips twitching with agitation, I knew one area in which I could beat him. Minato didn't eat properly and that went a long way. He was faster than me, sure, but he was weaker in strength and I had come with a clan kid advantage. I had my own unique fighting style compared to the others and I wasn't easily beat. Apparently, there was something about my springing moves, as I tended to jump into the air and was rather flexible, being disconcerting. There was also the added fact that you couldn't read what my next move would be because I didn't _think_ of a next move unless the situation called for it.

Back to sparring with Minato, however. Lately, the other kids didn't want to go near me, for fear that they'd be beaten by the 'Bloody Habanero' or would be mentally scarred considering Taichi was still in considering he was still in counseling. Thus I had been left with either Mikoto to spar with or Minato. I usually stuck with Mikoto when I had the choice but today was different. I would show him hell for trying to out do me in the only thing I felt secure in.

Once we got out to the training field, I settled into step with Minato. He looked at me curiously but I said nothing, just staring at him. It might be silly, using a scare tactic on the poor boy but it was him who easily got confused, hesitance coming soon after. When he asked if there was a problem and I said nothing, I saw the most confused, puppy dog-eyed expression ever. But I would not be tricked. In fact I was furious he was trying to use such a thing against me.

Then I smiled my best smile, and gave a sugar sweet laugh, "You're dead today, Minato-kun." I had never seen fear quite like his, mixed with raw confusion and the unsaid question of, '_What did I even do_?' but he would know soon enough.

"We'll be practicing throwing kunai today," Kurosawa-sensei announced and pointed to the rack of the hanging weapon, "Some of you kids have thrown kunai, but the majority of you kids have not. That is why I want the kids who accurately know how to throw these bad boys, in the _proper_ way, then raise your hands. If you are lying in anyway and are just trying to look cool, there will be a punishment," Kurosawa-sensei glared darkly and I blinked, watching as kids who had raised their hands brought them back down. I kept mine up. "Ah, Kushina-chan, could you demonstrate throwing kunai?"

With flushed cheeks, I nodded before stepping forward and grabbing one of them of the rack. I faced the target and threw it easily, watching as it hit dead center. I guess what helped the most was the hours, upon hours I had spent gaining control and accuracy over my chakra chains. My body and eyes were just naturally balanced so that when I was standing still, I could throw with deadly accuracy. Sadly, it didn't work for when I was actually moving, as I missed even the easiest target. I went and retrieved the kunai before standing in front the brunette. Kurosawa-sensei whistled.

"Good work there, Kushina-chan. Can you do it again, this time, walking us through the steps?"

"Sure," I agreed and faced the class. With a clear voice I explained the proper grip, the possible mistakes you could do and watched as the group of kids took in what I had to say. It was actually pretty nice, getting to be heard for change.

"It's exactly as she says," Kurosawa-sensei grinned and patted my on the head, "You'd make an excellent teacher, Kushina-chan."

"R-really?" I asked, not used to being praised by her.

"Yup! Now, I want everyone to pair up, experienced with inexperienced. We'll be practicing this for fifteen minutes before getting into spars."

"Mikoto-chan!" I called and watched her shake her head.

"I don't need to be taught, Kushina-chan," the obsidian eyed girl explained and I pouted, knowing that the only one to put up with me would be Minato. Before even that option could be taken, I rushed to his side, snagging his sleeve.

"You need to be taught, right?" I asked and gazed at the blonde as he nodded, looking uncertain about the whole thing, "Don't worry, Minato-kun, I won't kill you yet. That's for the spar."

"Why...?"

I didn't understand his question. Biting my lip, I studied him for a second before pointing to the rack of kunai, "Let's get started."

"Okay," he settled on saying after a moment of pause. The two of us grabbed three kunai each and I brought us to one of the targets.

"I doubt you'll need my help for much longer," I started out, the sore loser that I am.

"What do you mean?" Minato looked confused and I huffed out a sigh. Nothing was worse than a clueless prodigy.

"You're smart, you idiot," I didn't even care that I had just said something almost nice to him, "Now, grip it just like this. It'll make throwing a lot easier and your motions will be fluid."

"I see," Minato caught on quickly, holding the kunai as if it was made for him. It pretty much was, knowing what he would then accomplish with them.

"If you need to close your eyes for the first few tries, it's fine," I told him, recalling the trouble I had with them when I first started throwing at age three. Minato nodded before closing his left and throwing. It easily sank into the post, nearly hitting dead center. I wanted to cry, knowing that it hadn't been a fluke. With a huffy stance, I went and retrieved it, tossing it to him as he swiftly caught it. Tch.

"Throw again," I ordered and like a well oiled machine, he did, this time keeping both of his eyes open. It hit in the center. I frowned but patted him on the back before retrieving the kunai.

"That was surprisingly easy," Minato realized, laughing. I couldn't wait for the spar.

We went on to have a throwing contest, seeing who was more accurate. Despite my years of hard work building up my skills, Minato easily won.

When we were finally called to gather around and spar, it was with great pleasure that I stepped up as the first opponent and watched as everyone but Mikoto and Minato look pointedly away when Kurosawa-sensei asked for volunteers. With a sigh, and an unhappy face, Minato raised his hand and I grinned. Attaboy!

"Minato-kun versus Kushina-chan, it is. You may start."

The moment he stepped in the ring and his stance was ready, I shot forward, determined to win fairly and without charging my fists. He dodged and I feinted to the left, watching as he fell for it. I shot my fist forward, smashing it into his chin. I watched as he lost his balance. I jumped on top of him and with an evil cackle, I bound his hands in front of me with a chakra chain.

So I was showing off. So what?

There was a chorus of gasps as I heaved him up, my chains tightly coiled. As soon as I shoved him out of the circle and over the line, they dissipated and I looked at the blond boy to see his surprised face. Minato was always so shocked around me. I mean, I was unpredictable but not _that_ unpredictable.

"Kushina-chan, what did I say about using chakra?" Kurosawa-sensei chided even as she looked confused. Inwardly, I shrugged, knowing that I had still won.

"Next spar..." She went on with as I relished in the feeling of using my chains. It had been a while, hadn't it?

* * *

><p><strong>Don't Forget - <strong>**忘れないように**

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><p>My stomach grumbled. Lunch time!<p>

As soon as we had been dismissed, I hopped over to the bento and quickly gathered Mikoto and Minato. After a bit of discussion we decided to eat outside, where most kids usually ate lunch. However, with Mikoto and I being the social pariahs of our class, we sat away from the laughing and playing kids and sat underneath a large tree. It gave off a suitable amount of shade and it was nice. Konoha was pretty hot around here, and the breeze I'd always counted on was nearly non-existent today.

"Minato-kun," I said first as I disconnected the third level, "This is for you to open after school and to save for later."

"What is it?" The blond boy asked, brows lifted in question, gazing at the box in curiosity.

"Dinner," I simply told him, the contents entirely meant to stay a secret and a surprise.

He was grinning for a change after a brief moment of surprise, "Thank you, K-Kushina-san."

"Let's drop the honorifics, ne?" I suggested, looking at the two of them.

Mikoto sighed before saying, "You'll do what you want."

"Yatta! No hassle!" I cheered before opening up the boxes and laying them out, three pairs of wooden chopsticks laid out with them, "Dig in!"

As we ate I suddenly had a question. I turned to the blonde boy, "Minato... do you know what banter is?"

"I know what it is," He was saying and then blushed, "I'm just not very good at it."

Good. Another thing I was better at than him. Still, what a flaky idiot boy.

Ah, life was good in Konoha, if I let myself enjoy it.

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><p><strong>Don't Forget - <strong>**忘れないように ****- End**

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><p>AN: Thank you for all the lovely reviews and PMs. I've been thinking of a proper way to express my gratitude and thus I've decided to do reviewer awards. The first reward will be the 100th review, and I'll be writing a 1-2k one-shot for them, with the pairing of their choice, and plot. If they aren't into that whole romance thing, I'm fine with writing anything as long as it stays in the Naruto realm. I'll also be doing the 'Most Loyal Reviewer' and it goes to the person who has reviewed the most and has stuck with the story. This one will be given once the 100th review is taken. If I ever reach up to 200, then there will be a second reward and I'll be picking a _new _second loyal reviewer. Sound good?

Next chapter will be a timeskip.


	7. Resolve - 決意

**Infamy - ****汚名**

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><p><em><strong>7<strong>_

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><p><em>4 Years Later<em>

"Minato!" I roared into the classroom, making my way stiffly to the boy with an agitated frown on my face. Long locks of cherry red hair bounced as I huffed out, slamming my hands on the desk.

"What is it, Kushina?" There was still that stupid blush on his face, even if it was slight. It no longer took his entire face and ears. Over the years he had lost a bit of that baby fat and had filled out with muscles hidden beneath that jacket he always wore. At age nine, he was still nothing but a stupid kid, but he was, admittedly, cute. Cough, not that I'd ever say it to his face.

"You didn't even tell me, 'ttebane!" I whined, lips drawing out into a pout as I moved back and took my seat next to him.

"What didn't I tell you?" Minato looked confused and I sighed. Despite him being a genius, I still had to spell out the simplest things.

"That you're going to take the genin test. I had to hear from Mikoto... Are you guys cheating behind my back, 'ttebane? You do realize that we are a trio, a _trio_. Not a duo. Duo's are stupid and never work out. You'll rue the day you decided to exclude me, you stu-." Before I could go on, Minato's hand came to rest on my mouth, promptly shutting me up as my entire face flushed from the contact.

"I told you, Kushina. I told you yesterday during lunch," he calmly explained and I bit my lip in thought. What had we been doing... oh.

"I... I had been asleep," I informed him, and bit out a tiny apology before slamming my head against the desk, "Tsunade-nee is driving me crazy. She's such a slave-driver. Tch, just because she's being called out to missions left and right doesn't mean she can just pack in her lessons like crazy."

"She's an immense help to the war, you have to admit," Minato reminded me and I nodded before sitting up as I noticed Mikoto had entered the room. She came to sit next to me, a frown on her face.

"You managed to calm her down?" Mikoto asked and Minato nodded, his expression pinched.

"She was easy to reason with."

"Hn," Mikoto continued to frown and I wondered what was going on between the two of them. Had Minato lied and when I had been asleep they had done best friend things? It couldn't be. They were almost treating each other with hostility, or as hostile as they got. I looked between them, an expression of confusion and worry on my face.

"Are you guys fighting?" Just the thought hurt my very soul. I wanted to perish the thought. As a trio, we were the best and certainly, when we graduated, they would overlook our genders and realize it too!

"Not really..." Minato trailed off but it wasn't convincing.

"I will withhold food. I can eat a lot, 'ttebane!" I threatened, thinking of the bento I had brought today. It was filled to the brim with our favorites.

"We were just..." Mikoto sighed, "Out of the both of us, who do you like more?"

I blinked. I froze. I felt sweat bead on my forehead. This was not a question I could answer.

On one hand, Mikoto was sarcastic, with dark humor, and she was rather mature. She was easy to talk to and always came to defend me when others were talking about me. To add to that, her mother made me food. Good food.

Minato was innately different from her. He was like...a puppy. He wasn't that easy to talk to, or rather, I was just awkward with him. Yet, he was always there in the back of my mind. He was smart and talented in everything but banter and he sincerely just wanted me to like him for some rather bizarre reason.

But who did I like better?

I forced a laugh as my hand came to hold onto my hair for comfort, "What are you guys going on about...? I like you both equally."

"I knew she would react like this, Minato," Mikoto sighed before she turned to me, "I'll live in comfort in the fact that I'm your favorite."

"Mikorin!" I complained, eyes wide as I glanced in worry at Minato.

"It's fine, Kushina," Minato smiled, with a confidence in his form that I had never seen before. Wait, he wasn't smiling. He was _smirking_, "I know that you like me more."

"Not you too!" I cried out, before using both arms to bring both of them close, "We are a trio, a _trio_."

"Yeah, yeah," Mikoto patted my back before pulling away, "So, are you going to do it?"

I released my hold on Minato before considering what she was asking. A moment passed of silence before I released a chuckle, holding my hands out helplessly, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Mikoto sighed, forefinger being brought to the middle of her forehead, "The genin exams. I'm taking them this year too. I really want to get the chance to help out in this war, even if it's only grunt work."

"I guess I have no choice then," I decided, "I'll take them."

"Good, maybe if we have an abundance of girls, the three of us could end up as a team," Mikoto suggested and I vigorously nodded.

"It's not likely," Minato frowned, "During war time, most parents are pulling out their kids, especially the girls."

"Minarin, 'ttebane!" I couldn't help but punching his arm, "We don't speak such pessimistic thoughts."

"I just don't want you to be disappointed, Kushina," Minato didn't relent, eyes serious. Why was it that times like this...!? I felt my face heat up and I bit my lip. He looked so...cute! Trying to act like an adult, it was almost laughable. I had to restrain myself before the cackle bubbled forth.

"So when are the exams anyway?" I asked after I had calmed down a bit.

"Ah, it should actually be around Minato's birthday, I think?" Mikoto pondered, "In about four months, I believe."

"That soon?" I grinned at Minato, "You'll be ten, won't you? Hmm, what should I do for your birthday?" I thought back to the last presents I had gotten him, all embarrassing things. First had been underwear, then after how badly that went (It had been a joke!), I had given him a pranking kit, to which he never used. The last two had been a scarf and a set of five golden kunai that I had paid to get lacquered (get the joke?). He actually used them. But what to get for him this year?

I would think more about it later.

"You don't have to do anything, Kushina," He told me with a goofy grin, "I think those kunai can make up for a lot of birthdays."

"We should at least have a party, just the three of us," I suggested, "I'll make cake, 'ttebane!"

"That sounds nice," Minato nodded, his eyes glued to my hands as I tugged on my hair. This time, I did my best to ignore him, no matter how painful it was to not snap at him. I pulled my hands away and grabbed my notebook.

"I have a seal to show you," I announced, sliding the page open to the newest seal I had learned. It was selfish of me, but he would learn it soon anyway. The Contract Seal, something Minato had actually used wrest a Kurama out of the control of Tobi. Although, it didn't give him control over the kyuubi, it had helped in the end. I still had no clear idea on what I was doing but preparing him for That Day early should, would be a smart move.

"Ah, what is it?" Minato gazed at it curiously and I explained, before going through the steps of drawing the seal.

"You know, once I get it down myself, I'll teach you how to draw seals with your chakra," I told him as soon as he began recreating the seal.

"That's possible?"

I shrugged, "It's just like for ninjutsu," which I really need to learn more of, "when you can perform handless jutsu. All you need to do is have a piece of paper and bam! It's drawn and you didn't even have to plan for it!" Although, if I dabbled in flesh seals, it wouldn't even involve the paper. My throat grew tight at the thought, reminding me of my mother's order to never learn them. It had even gotten to the point that I didn't look past her meeting dad when it came to gazing at her memories in the dark.

"That sounds very useful for a battle," Minato smiled, his blue eyes shining.

I nodded, returning the grin, "I've watched Obaa-san do it plenty of times and it's still really cool!"

Even with her aging as she was, her body deteriorating, she was still an Uzumaki and her life line was still holding on. Although, she had been sleeping a lot more lately, forcing me to either learn on my own (which I was fully capable of doing, I just liked having her around), or I would have to nag Tsunade to teach me more medical jutsu. I had gotten pretty far since I started four years ago but I was nothing like her. For one, I had learned all I could about healing herbs but I wasn't as far in my education to learn about poisons.

At least I was able to heal with the Mystical Palm now.

What I really wanted to learn, however, was the technique both Mito and Tsunade used. The Strength of a Hundred Seal would pretty much guarantee my survival during That Day if only I could use Creation Rebirth. I was still too afraid to ask and my window of opportunity was leaving. Nawaki was still eleven, but his birthday would be soon. Meaning Tsunade would lose her brother, and then shortly after, she would start dating Dan and then _he_ would die.

It was almost maddening, knowing that it would happen and I still had no clue how, or when. Like I said, they were a ticking time bombs that I wanted nothing to do with.

Minato poked my cheek and I jumped, having realized I had been lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" He was asking and I shook my head.

"Everything's fine, I'm just worried about the exams," I easily lied, waving my hand. He looked as if he didn't believe me, but, thankfully, he let it slide.

"Aren't you and Mikoto tied for first place kunoichi in our year?"

I nodded absently, "That doesn't actually ensure my passing."

"I don't think you have anything to be worried about, Kushina," Mikoto grinned, "After all, you've been training with Tsunade-sama and Mito-sama, two of the most powerful kunoichi in our history. In fact, people have been saying that Tsunade-sama is the world's greatest iryo-nin."

I nodded, smiling, "That's true. I can't let them down." Besides, I needed to have Mito live to see me graduate.

* * *

><p><strong>Resolve - <strong>**決意**

* * *

><p>"Obaa-san, I'm home!" I called into house, hyper aware of the silence as I crept toward her bedroom. "Obaa-san...?" I opened her door, to see her sleeping form, her chest rising and deflating in an even rhythm. I breathed a sigh of relief as I closed her door.<p>

Every time it was quiet like this, it made me antsy.

The Senju Clan wasn't that large anyway, at least compared to the past. The members had been dwindling for some time, and because of that, there tended to be a lull of silence. Most of them were probably out at this time of day.

Sighing, I headed to my room, planning to work on my chakra control. I was still trying to figure out how I could keep my control the same even when I had the Kyuubi inside of me. I knew it would happen soon, no matter how I liked to avoid the truth. I was tempted to ask Mito, but I never really liked bringing up Kurama.

It was daunting to think that Mito wouldn't be in this world, to help me.

I suppose it was time to grow up for a second time, although I just wished to stick with the pleasant days and completely avoid the bad stuff. It was inevitable, however, an unavoidable.

The world would continue to spin even if I lost my last link to Uzushio.

I shook my head of those depressing thoughts and forced a grin because soon I believed it wouldn't be so forced.

With a goal in mind, I gathered my utensils and headed to the Senju training field that stood right to the side of the main house. In the end, I practiced the techniques Mito and Tsunade had taught me over the years, sometimes practicing the Academy Three. Although, those got boring and old fast, considering I was learning much bigger, and impressive things.

Right now, I was only allowed to learn C-rank jutsu, not until I was older and my chakra reserves could handle it. Actually, there was one perk to becoming a Jinchuuriki. With chakra in such an abundance, I could easily move onto the B-rank jutsu's I wanted so badly to learn.

Especially that S-rank...

"Thought I'd find you here," I jumped as I heard Tsunade's voice call out.

"Oh, hi, Tsunade-nee!" I greeted her with a grin, eyes glued to her forehead. I could see the seal, I knew what it could do, if only I knew how to do it.

"I heard that you're going to take the genin exams this year," Tsunade grinned, "News travels fast."

"Yeah," I mumbled, a shy blush coming to my face, "Minato wants to help with the war as soon as possible. I guess I do too," not really, "but hopefully we'll end up on the same team, 'ttebane!"

"Going by how they usually match teammates, either you or Mikoto would be with him, being as you're the top kunoichi."

I frowned, "I wish I was a boy. Then, Mikoto could be my wife and I could be on a team with her."

"Your wife?" Tsunade laughed.

"We've already promised that if we're twenty, then we'll be say goodbye to love and grow old together with a bunch of cats. Then we can adopt Minato."

The Slug Princess continued to laugh, gripping her sides, "You certainly got your life planned out."

More like, it was decided already by Kishimoto. Huh, maybe, as the author, we was the God of this place. Maybe I should take to praying, although in either life, I wasn't necessarily religious. Then again, I recall joking that Naruto itself was my religion. Maybe that's why I remembered more about the series than my actual past life.

"You have to be prepared when you decided to be a kunoichi," I told her, seriously and Tsunade wiped a stray tear aside as she sobered up.

"That's true," Tsunade grinned, "How far have you gotten into creating a chakra scalpel?"

I performed the hand seals methodically, Tiger, Horse, Rabbit, Rat, and Dog, and watched as blue chakra covered my hands. I held them up with a grin.

"Excellent, now you're a dangerous kunoichi that can cut down their foes with just their hands," Tsunade clapped, her blue eyes bright. I felt a pang of guilt as that smile made me think of Nawaki.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, that would warn her to keep an eye on her brother. The words didn't leave my mouth. I clamped them shut and watched the blue chakra dissipate and I couldn't help but smile sadly at my hands. They were utterly useless in helping Tsunade, even as she had actually come to feel like a big sister, always ready to protect me.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunade asked and I reflexively shook my head.

"Just... I was wondering if you'd promise me something."

"That depends," Tsunade bit her lip, "What do you want me to promise?"

I looked her in the eye, any humor that had been there before vanishing, "I was wondering if, when I'm older and I can handle it, no matter what circumstances we're in, you would teach me the Strength of a Hundred Seal."

Her eyes widened, "Why would you want to...can't you ask Mito-san for that?"

I considered this, "I could, but you were the one to make the Creation Rebirth. That's what I want to learn." Besides, Mito will be dying soon.

"Kushina...you do realize that if you were to ever use it for the Creation Rebirth, it would dramatically shorten your lifespan."

I shook my head, "I'm not worried about that. After all, I have the Uzumaki life force, 'ttebane!"

"Then...why?" Tsunade looked worried and I couldn't help but smile.

"I want to be able to help my teammates and my family with the very last breath I have," I told her honestly, thinking back to everyone I had already lost. I wouldn't let it happen again. This was my resolve, my resolution that I would do my best to change That Day.

"I suppose... I will. Alright then, I promise, Kushina, no matter what, when you are ready, I will teach you. After all, you are my cute little sister," Tsunade came close and brought her hands to my shoulder before I saw her lean down, her lips coming to rest on my forehead.

I felt my face heat up and I nearly wanted to cry tears of joy, as I jumped forward to hug her tightly.

Even if both Dan and Nawaki died, I'd be here still. I'd be here for her.

Because that's all I could really do.

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><p><strong>Resolve - <strong>**決意**

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><p>Today, I decided, would be a fun day.<p>

Mostly because it was finally Minato's birthday, with tomorrow being the genin exams.

Even now, as I looked over the table of food that I had made. For the main meal I had went ahead and made three bowls of katsudon, with side-dishes consisting of pork shigureni, tamagoyaki, hourensou no goma-ae, and kinpira gobo. As for dessert, I'd actually decided to stick with something traditional, even if both of them liked my unusual creations, and chose to make sweet green tea mochi and kasutera. I make a cake, however, but that was for after the genin exams. Had to celebrate with something, no?

To a civilian, this would look like too much food for three tiny children. However, as we burned calories quickly, our metabolisms being crazy good, it was perfect.

I sighed in anticipation of when they'd come over.

We had decided that our little celebration would be hosted at in my widely spacious bedroom so we didn't disturb the Senju clansmen and I didn't have to go hauling food across the village.

"Kushina-chan!?" I heard Tsunade's voice call out and I hurried out into the open as I made my way to her voice, "Your friends are here."

"Mikorin! Minarin!" I hopped forward to embrace them, red hair bouncing around my shoulders as I moved, "I made a lot of yummy food."

"I can smell it," Mikoto laughed out, her cheeks slightly red as I pulled away from them, taking their hands as I led them to my bedroom.

It wasn't the first time they had been in my room, thank god. No awkwardness.

We all went to sit around the low table, Mikoto on her folded legs, while Minato and I just settled to sit with our legs crossed. I had never really admitted this to anyone, but I usually did sit for dinner like Mikoto did. However, Minato was an orphan and as such, he wasn't really aware of manners in a clan setting. So I just mimicked him to set him at ease. Besides, manners were unneeded when you were as close as the three of us.

"Thank you for the food!" I cheered, grabbing my chopsticks, watching in slight distaste as Mikoto grabbed her metal pair. I wouldn't ever, if I had anything to do with it, use metal chopsticks. Distantly, I thought of Hakuba's look of disgust and couldn't help the laugh that sprang forth. My two buddy's exchanged confused looks but they ended up biting into the katsudon after I had managed to wrangle in my laughter.

"This is really good," Minato said, smiling and I grinned.

"Thank you," I replied with, and then there was a moment of silence as we simply enjoyed the food. I don't know when it happened, but as time had gone on, the three of us were just fine in the quiet, it was comfortable. It wasn't strange for them, being as they were naturally subdued, but for me, it was a nice break from my somewhat exuberant behavior.

I smiled to myself as I took a bit of the shigurenai and chewed on it thoughtfully. Times like this were usually my favorite, but despite my good mood and the presence of my friends, there was something looming over my head. Mito.

Just yesterday she had to be taken to the hospital. Although she had come back this morning, looking as she had usually, it was something that had made me feel like I couldn't breathe. Losing Mito wasn't going to be easy for me, despite the fact that death was always inevitable. I couldn't help but think of the late nights we had shared as my nightmares had escalated. She had been the one to calm me down, to keep the bad thoughts away.

Without Mito, I could feel them, those nightmares and the memories I shouldn't have, coming back to haunt me.

I stuffed a mouthful of rice into my mouth just to shut my thoughts up.

"I wonder how tomorrow is going to go?" Mikoto pondered out loud, "I'm certain we'll all do fine though."

"Team placements," I murmured and then I released a groan, "I wish I was born with a penis!"

But no, I just _had_ to be born into a girls body whose key role in the future of this world laid in her child's hands, who would grow up an orphan because she and her husband would die on the very day of his birth.

Mikoto snorted, "If you were a boy, I'd imagine that Minato would be dead, with the way you toss him around during spars. Just imagine if you had the strength of a boy."

My eyes lit up, "I would be so strong, 'ttebane!"

The blonde boy shuddered, "I think your best as a girl, Kushina."

I laughed, reaching over the table to slap his arm, "You're just afraid that I'd beat you up even more that I do now!" Actually, I had my suspicions about why I won all our spars. Out of our year, Minato was the best fighter, and with his speed, he could easily beat me at this point. I didn't want to bring it up, but I had the suspicion that he was stupidly going easy on me.

I think it had to do with the fact that if I were to ever really lose, I would probably ignore him. However, that was in the past. I liked him enough as a friend that I wouldn't go that far. I would swallow my pride. Yet, he just refused to go for my weak points. It was almost infuriating but by now I had learned to shove the thoughts aside.

Either way, Mikoto was the person I sparred with the most and we never went easy on each other. In fact, there had been times that we had gotten so violent with each other that Kurosawa-sensei had to pull us apart before we seriously injured one another.

I sighed fondly at the memories.

"It's not that..." Minato mumbled, his face suddenly bright with a blush, "You're...prettier this way."

Since when...!? Since when had he been this bold!?

I felt my face heat up as I mumbled out my response, "You'd be cuter as a girl...idiot."

"Wow," I looked up to see an unimpressed Mikoto, sarcastic humor in her eyes, "I can see it now, your wedding day."

"N-no way!" I stuttered out, "I'm marrying you, Mikorin!"

The raven-haired girl just laughed it off, "Ah, I'm spoken for, sorry to break your heart."

I froze, "Are you serious?"

Biting her lip, Mikoto nodded, "I'll be marrying the clan heir as soon as I become ready to bare children."

Meaning, when she had her first period.

I shouldn't be surprised, really. It was the same for the Uzumaki clan. To make the clan prosper as soon as possible, in this world where death could happen to all ages, marriages were arranged to ensure the best matches possible, and the strongest offspring. I already knew who she would be marrying, but I hadn't ever met him. He was older than us by a few years and he could be pretty intimidating.

Still, I needed to show my support for her. I grinned at her, "Who's the lucky bastard?"

"Fugaku Uchiha," my friend sighed, "He's so frustrating! Our parents are crazy to think that we would be a good match. You know what he said to me when they told us?"

"What?" I asked, feeling scandalized.

"He said that I'd better be prepared to leave behind you!" Mikoto looked ready to burst with anger. "As if I could ever think to do that."

"Well," I started, "I suppose I could see where he's coming from. I am sort of crazy," and I have a lot of baggage.

"Then I'm just as crazy as you," Mikoto pouted.

"We can be lunatics together!" I roared as I pumped my fist in the air.

Minato and Mikoto were laughing and I joined in after a moment. It was a good moment.

"What about you though," Mikoto asked me as soon as the laughter died.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you set to be in an arranged marriage in your clan?"

I thought about that, "Well, before I came here, I had actually been one of the prospective heirs. Although, so was Ichigo. I'm not sure about Kenma. He was a little bit too silly. So considering I had been acknowledged as such, I figure they would pair me up with one of them. Then again, I don't think I'll be able to go back to live there, so I think I won't actually have an arranged marriage." I felt a pang in my heart, as the faces of Kenma and Ichigo were brought up. I still had their photo in my bedroom, somewhere, "They'd have to come live here for that to happen." Not like Konoha was as close to Uzushio to let their jinchuuriki out of the village.

"Who are Ichigo and Kenma?" Mikoto looked confused, "You've never talked about them."

I jumped in surprise as I realized that I had actually just spilled a little bit about my past. I gazed at them with worry, hoping they weren't jealous. They just looked more confused than anything.

Sighing, I stood up with a small stretch as I began to search through all my paper and scrolls. Before long, I had found the photo, inside of a frame that had fallen from my desk due to the abundance of papers I had there. With a smile, I hopped forward to my two friends as I showed them the photo.

"They're three years older than me, but that was when I had just turned five and they were eight. They'd be twelve right now.I haven't talked to them since I left, but I hope they're doing good." I didn't know what they looked like now. I hadn't actually been able to leave the village thanks to the war Konoha had gotten itself into. But that was a rant for another time.

"What were they to you?" Minato softly asked as he gazed at the picture, a slightly solemn expression on his face.

I considered this, "Well, they're my cousins, if we're talking about being blood-related. Kenma was the silliest one. We were always fighting but I think it was because he just cared too much," I chuckled to myself as I thought of all the times I had pranked him, and he would chase after me, "Ichigo, on the other hand, was really nice. He paid a lot of attention to me, which made Kenma jealous - they're twins by the way - and he was always willing to go along with me on my tangents of stupidity. Despite that, he was really serious. He seemed the most likely to take up the title as heir."

I wondered to myself how Uzushio looked right now. Four years was a long time, but it wasn't enough to deal with such a great loss.

"Were they your best friends?" Mikoto asked, expression sour.

I laughed, "Not like you guys are. They were family. We were technically forced to deal with each other. I chose you guys myself." That was a slight lie, being as the real Kushina had chosen them as well. Yet, I liked to believe that I had decided to accept them both without thinking of what the future held.

"Good," Mikoto grinned before looking at me expectantly, "So...dessert?"

"On it!" I hopped up and bounced out of the room and into the kitchen. With the tray of mochi and kasutera, I came back, announcing, "If we all pass the genin exams, there will be cake! For now, settle with this. Happy birthday, Minato!"

"Happy birthday, Minato," Mikoto said, smiling softly at him.

Looking at the two of us, he flushed, before nodding, "Thank you." His eyes were shining, an impossibly big smile on his face. "Thank you," he repeated, as tears welled up in his eyes. With understanding, I laid the tray down on the table and kneeled by him to embrace him.

"You aren't going to be alone again, Minato," I vowed. You won't die either. Even if our marriage is without love on my part, I will do everything I can to make you happy.

It was the least I could do.

* * *

><p><strong>Resolve - <strong>**決意**

* * *

><p>"Congratulations," Ruta-sensei smiled at me, "You've passed and made genin, team assignments will be held tomorrow, in the morning." My teacher of the past four years handed me a hitai-ate and I nearly cried with relief.<p>

I hadn't been worried about actually passing but what had I scored? "When will the results be posted?"

"Tomorrow. Be secure in the knowledge that you aren't dead last like I thought you would be."

I shrugged, having come to be used to people thinking they knew me when they had no idea what I could really do. I suppose, when people have expectations laid on them, no matter how good or bad, they usually arise to them. No wonder Naruto was dead-last. He'd never been supported and thus fell to what everyone had expected of him.

"You are dismissed," Kurosawa-sensei told me and I nodded before quickly leaving, clutching onto the headband with curiosity. I wondered where I would put it. Forehead, in my hair, around my neck... there were so many options.

I swiftly found Minato and Mikoto in the sea of parents and students alike as I flashed them my possession, with a grin. They held up theirs and I inwardly cheered for the cake that we would be having.

"How well do you think you did?" I asked them both, marveling over the two of them deciding to place the hitai-ate on their foreheads. I followed suit, feeling comfort in that we were the same.

"I did my best," Minato simply said and Mikoto nodded.

"We'll see how well we did tomorrow, I suppose," the raven-haired girl simply said.

I could feel the excitement as I wondered if I'd be paired with Minato or not. Who would be my new teacher?

It was all very exciting. But what was even more exciting, even if she was confined to bedrest, was the fact that would get to proudly show Mito my headband, and feel comfort in protecting her beloved home.

* * *

><p><strong>Resolve - <strong>**決意 - End**

* * *

><p>AN: I don't really like how this chapter turned out, it was hard to write. Aaaaaaa, I'm considering adding a bit of Minato's pov in the next chapter for the team assignments. I'm not sure about it. Thoughts?


	8. Teams - 分隊

**Infamy - ****汚名**

* * *

><p><em><strong>8<strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Minato<em>

"Minato!" Kushina called to the blonde boy and he couldn't help but jump a bit as a smile came to grace his lips. She was grinning, her violet eyes bright and pleased, a smug expression just teetering on the brink of coming into view. She always had that look when she surprised him, which was, sad to say, often.

"Good morning, Kushina," Minato replied with, his cheeks heating up slightly as he recalled what he had just been thinking of before she had popped up. Her hair, as vibrant as the day she had come to Konoha, cascaded down her back, and swayed with her movements, making it rather hard for him to ignore it. He knew she didn't like when he stared at it and he assumed it was because of the bullies in the past.

Yet nothing could blind him to how mesmerizing her hair was.

People in Konoha didn't usually have such a deep color of red as their hair. Usually, the colors were muted and subdued if other people had red hair. He supposed that Kushina's locks reflected her blunt, excitable personality.

Camouflage, for her, would present a problem when they were able to leave the village on missions.

"This is so exciting, 'ttebane!" Kushina seemed to shudder, as if her body was wracked with emotion, "I didn't even sleep last night. That might be a bad idea, though... Oh well, 'ttebane!"

It was then that he noticed the bags dusting just underneath her sparkling eyes. He frowned, worried. It wouldn't be good if she passed out on her jounin teacher and her new teammates. He hoped they would be together on a team, then that would mean he could take care of her, if the need arose.

The Uzumaki girl was bouncing, as if having had too much sweet tea. She was hyper, it seemed.

Things were always interesting when she was that way, as she was prone to random outbursts and said some very strange things. He recalled the time, four years ago, when she had claimed him to be her husband affected by amnesia. He hadn't known what to think then, but now, he kind of had a slight, _small_, desire for that to come to be true - minus the amnesia.

It wasn't a crush, he didn't feel that way about her - or so he told himself - but it was a deeply ingrained feeling of comfort and security when it came to Kushina. He wondered if he would ever fall in love with her. He resisted a shudder, thinking of how she was violent when it came to love. Kushina had distinctly stated herself a non-believer of all things that included romance, and something about her set jaw, and narrowed eyes made him think that something like that would be a rather hard thing to change about her.

"I wonder if they've posted the results," Minato pondered out loud, as his thoughts suddenly wandered and veered into new musings.

"I checked them already, they were on the door, as usual," Kushina leaned closely into him as she stood to his right, her arm brushing against his. He looked pointedly away, and tried to think of anything else other than the fact that he wanted her to come in closer.

"What were the scores?" Minato asked, trying to stay with the conversation. It was proving to be a difficult task as he was usually consumed by his thoughts.

"Well, you scored for number one on the boys," She informed him, "Mikoto...was first for the girls and I was just a one slot beneath her."

His heart sank. They wouldn't be posted on the same team at this rate. He distantly wished that Kushina was dead-last, but quickly shook the thoughts away. He liked how smart she was.

"We'll still hang out," Kushina assured him, her mouth set into a determined line, eyes sharp, "It might actually be for the better that we'll be on different teams," Kushina looked as if she had more to say, but she just bit her lip, before shifting to gaze at a spot on the wooden floors.

Minato was still disappointed.

"Hey guys," Mikoto's voice hollered and the two genins turned in the direction of it.

He liked the Uchiha, not as much as Kushina, but he couldn't lie and say he wasn't _entirely_ unfazed by his small little competition for the Uzumaki's affections, who adamantly played a neutral party.

Often times, no matter how silly it was, they would compare past interactions while the redhead slept at lunch. Mikoto was winning, currently, but Minato had a feeling that he would be pulling ahead some time in the future. He just had to be patient.

"Did you see the results?" Kushina was asking the obsidian-eyed girl, who nodded.

"It seems I'll be stuck with the dork. I'll take care of him for you."

"That would be great," Kushina grinned, "He is a dork, isn't he?"

_I'll be your dork._

He blinked, wondering where that thought had come from.

Looking at his two friends, however, he shook it off and instead watched as people filed into the room.

The team assignments would be starting any moment now.

Alarmingly enough, jounin were coming into the room, their intense presences demanding all attention. He supposed that they were here to retrieve their students once the teams had been called.

He couldn't help but gaze at all of them, wondering which one would be his teacher and he found his eyes resting on one man in particular. He knew who he was, everyone did. One of the legendary sannin, and someone rumors to summon toads the size of an apartment complex. He kind of wanted to see that for himself.

"Ahem," Ruta-sensei called everyone to attention, standing in front of the herd, "It's about time that we got started here. I'll now be listing teams and names, if you'll all be quiet."

Everyone stopped talking and moving, despite the nervous thrum in the air. It was almost palpable in the air, and even Minato was feeling slightly nervous.

He nearly released a gasp a hand came to rest in his. Kushina smiled at him with confidence when he turned to study her. Just like that, his worry vanished.

"Team 4, under Tezuka Kazuhiko..." Ruta-sensei's voice droned on as he realized that he had zoned out on the other teams. He hoped he hadn't missed his. That would be bad, and embarrassing, "Team 5, under Hakuba Hyuuga, Kira Aburame, Isamashii Inuzuka, and Kushina Uzumaki."

It was a blow, her name being called for a different time, setting in stone that he wouldn't get to go on missions with her. Kushina seemed excited though.

"Hakuba-sensei has such a nice ring to it! His hair is longer too," she had been whispering to herself and Minato wondered if she had met her new teacher before.

"Team 6, under Jariya, of the legendary sannin, Shikou Nara, Minato Namikaze, and Mikoto Uchiha."

Minato found his brows lifting in surprise as he realize he might actually get to see it in person, the summoning of large amphibians, that is.

Kushina nudged him, "You got yourself a kick-ass teacher," then she narrowed her eyes, "Don't pick up bad habits from him."

He didn't really understand why she had said that last tidbit, but he supposed it was just Kushina and her usual eccentricities.

She released his hand, leaving his palm tingling with something strange. It was as if a puzzle piece had just been broken. He frowned.

Maybe it was a crush.

* * *

><p><strong>Teams - <strong>**分隊**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

Alright! Hakuba-sensei it was.

I was nearly throbbing with excitement as Ruta-sensei closed up the assignments with what might have been an inspirational speech. I doubted anyone had actually listened, the room was filled with too much static for that.

As soon as he stopped talking, I left a few parting words to my two friends before hopping forward to where Hakuba stood with the most prominent scowl on his face I had ever seen. I nearly buzzed with the need to release my laughter but I held back as I took in the fact that his hair was just as long as my hair had been, making me think that the short hair hadn't been planned.

He must have been bullied, then.

Just the notion of it...I couldn't contain the chuckle that slipped through as faced him directly, "Hello, Hakuba-sensei!"

He sighed, bringing a hand to his face, "Hello, Kushina."

I was somewhat surprised by his lack of honorifics but I didn't necessarily mind it.

"Are we going to go somewhere for team introductions?" I asked, earnestly gazing at him with wide, adoring eyes. He was just so...dispassionate and cool!

"Be patient," Hakuba merely said and I pouted.

Not soon after, two boys walked up to us, one with distinctive red clan markings and the other with heavy clothing, and long, hanging black bangs that covered his eyes. It was a small miracle that the latter could see in front of himself. Or at least, I assumed he could see.

"Isamashii Inuzuka," the rugged, marked boy announced, giving a confident grin.

I politely bowed. This boy was a year older than me, I knew it. He was probably in the year above me, actually. I had never seen him in any of the classes of my year.

"Kira Aburame," said the mysterious one, his voice monotone and almost, not quite there, lazy. as if talking required too much energy.

"Kushina Uzumaki," I introduced myself, with another bow. The other two boys followed suit.

Well, this was going a lot more smoothly than I expected.

"Your a lot smaller than I thought the great Bloody Habanero would be," Isamashii commented, scratching his cheek thoughtfully.

Maybe not so smoothly.

I gritted my teeth, and gave him a feral grin as I fought back my agitation, "Please refrain from calling me that. Unless, you really want to know what I can do." I was tempted to crack my knuckles but Hakuba was having none of it. He quickly hit the top of my head, making me wince as I looked at him with a pout, "Hakuba-sensei!"

"We'll have to work on your control," the Hyuuga simply said, before spinning on his heels and beckoning us forth with a wave of his fingers.

Like the cute little ducks we were, we followed closely behind and watched as we came to a park. It was mostly for citizens but the shrubbery reminded me a little bit of Uzushio, making my eyes widen as I studied Hakuba a bit more closely.

"We're going to have a picnic," He was saying, pointing to the spot where a basket and a blanket were neatly folded, "My wife insisted on cooking, an early lunch, if you will," he explained lamely and I allowed myself to chuckle.

I wondered if she was the person to chop off his hair.

"While we eat, we'll be going over your individual scores, areas for improvements," Hakuba went on as we set up the picnic. I had a feeling that this wasn't all.

What happened to the second, hidden test that the jounin teachers gave?

I was no longer amused, body tense.

As we began to dig in, the food alarmingly delicious, he pulled out papers, three folders to be exact. He handed them over to us.

As I opened mine up, eyes widening as my gaze jumped to my score. That must be...I didn't expect _that_ to be my score.

Ninjutsu: 1, Taijutsu: 3, Genjutsu: .5, Intelligence: 3, Strength: 2, Speed: 2, Stamina: 3, Hand Seals: 3. All for a grand total of 17.5. I believe it was a point off from Sasuke. Which was kind of disappointing but then, I doubt they considered my study into medical ninjutsu, otherwise it would have been higher but I remembered I had failed to inform them of my study under Tsunade's tutelage.

I nearly face palmed.

"What score did you get?" Isamashii was asking me and I just passed him the paper, "Oh, you're actually smart!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "What scores did you get?" Let's see if his bark was as good as his bite.

Wordlessly, he handed it to me and I couldn't resist the pout that came forward. He scored a full 18 points. Although, his intelligence score was lower than mine. He was stronger, and was faster than I was but that was sort of to be expected.

I looked to Kira, "Can we see your scores, if you're okay with it?"

He cocked his head, and without a word, he passed me the paper.

"Woah!" I exclaimed as I saw an impressive score of 19. It seemed he excelled with ninjutsu, which wasn't surprising, and very fast on his feet.

"What is it?" Isamashii asked, coming to look over my shoulder, "Dang, I knew he was good, but not this good."

I blinked. Minato had gotten the top score out of everyone graduating. But what exactly had his score been to beat the 19.

"None of us are bad," Isamashii noticed, "I thought that teams were created with the strong and weak to level them out."

"That's the very thing I wanted you to see," Hakuba spoke up, "It isn't common, but due to the necessity of the situation, we'll be specialized right off the bat. Hokage-sama saw it as a good opportunity, given your individual situations. Now, what do you think our specialization will be?"

Isamashii shrugged and Kira had a thoughtful air about him.

"Tracking and retrieval," I instantly said. It made the most sense.

"And why would that be?"

"The Inuzuka clan is known for their heightened sense of smell, and they're ninken are extremely useful. The Aburame clan has their bugs, which can retrieve information easily through that connection. Then," I paused, "I have my chains and my seals, which can capture just about anything."

"Excellent," Hakuba nodded, a softer scowl letting me know that he was proud, "It's exactly as she says. As Team 5, we will be forgoing the test that jounin teachers will give out, and we'll be jumping into missions as soon as possible. My job is to train the three of you to be prepared for C-ranks as soon as possible. Your scores are high enough that I doubt we'll spend much time on the D-ranks."

I guess the war was getting pretty nasty if they had us doing that right off the bat.

Despite that, I relaxed. There wouldn't be test, like I thought there would be.

"However, before we go on any C-ranks, I will be assessing the three of you in a test."

I winced.

The three of us were silent as we took that in.

"When do we start training?"

"I expect you in training grounds three, at exactly five o'clock."

I nearly groaned but held it back. Waking up early would be a struggle, certainly, but well worth it if I would get to improve my skills and complete higher ranked missions before Minato or Mikoto could.

* * *

><p><strong>Teams - <strong>**分隊**

* * *

><p>"What?" The noodles in my mouth nearly slipped out as the three of us sat on the stools at Ichiraku, "You guys are specializing already?"<p>

"Intelligence work, apparently," Mikoto explained, "We're going to be tested tomorrow to see if we're ready for C-ranks already. The three of us had the highest scores."

"So they didn't do that balance things with you guys either?" It was surprising to say the least but I should have thought it would be that way knowing they had a _Nara_ on their team.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked, picking up on my word choices.

"Well, my team is specializing too. We aren't being tested for C-ranks yet though," I added, perhaps a bit bitter about it.

"Hmm, a Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, and an Uzumaki... Tracking and retrieval?" Mikoto took a guess and I nodded.

"Hakuba-sensei is a sensor too," I added.

"Did you know him before today?" Minato asked, blue eyes curious.

"Oh yeah," my eyes glazed over as I thought of the past, "He's the reason why I had to come here."

"Hn," Mikoto looked thoughtful before asking, "Why did you come here anyway?"

I had to think fast. Something believable, or change the subject..., "Before that, what were your scores? I got a 17.5."

"An 18.5," The raven-haired gril replied with, brows raised, "I wonder why you scored lower than me. I would have thought we matched."

"My genjutsu and ninjutsu scores were bad," I winced just thinking about it.

"Ninjutsu?" She looked surprised, "What about your medical ninjutsu, did they not take that into account?"

"I forgot to tell them!" I cried, slapping my face with my palm, "I don't deserve my high intelligence, I'm an idiot, 'ttebane!"

"You're not an idiot," Minato assured me, "I'm sure you were just distracted. You _have_ been worried about something lately."

So he had noticed? It seems my poker face wasn't as good as I thought it was. Heh. Moving on.

"What was your teacher like?" I asked them curiously and watched as the two of them collectively shuddered.

"He's so...perverted," Mikoto commented and I nodded in understanding.

"That's why I warned Minato about bad habits," I looked at him pointedly and his eyes widened, as if something was clicking into place, "Don't pick up on them."

"I won't," The blonde boy assuaged my fears of him walking around like Kakashi had with his book. I'm, admittedly, a jealous person. I don't think I could handle my husband reading such things when I was here to... I felt my face burn as I felt tempted to throw myself into the large pot that Ichiro, the owner of the ramen stall, cooked with.

"Ah!" I yelped as the memory of _having_ the thought remained, "Stupid!"

I probably looked strange, suffering for no apparent reason as I clutched my head and forced myself to forget. If only I had a seal that could seal away unwanted things.

"Uh, don't hurt yourself there, Kushina," an alarmingly familiar, boyish voice said and I froze, eyes wide. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. My mind went blank.

The last time I had heard that voice...had been exactly four years ago. But why now? Why here?

"K...Kenma?"

"So you do remember me!" He laughed, "Ichigo was saying how you might not remember us. But I was saying how you couldn't forget us, we were the best pals ever, right? And then we got that letter-."

I cut him off as I turned to face him, eyes wide as my bottom lip trembling, "Is this real?" My voice was tiny and small and the redheaded boy, with vibrantly white teeth, grinned, blue eyes shining.

"Of course it is! I'm a chuunin now, after all, I can go missions like this with my tea-."

I lunged at him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist, "I missed you so much," I declared, rubbing my face into his chest. He was surprisingly tall for a twelve year old. Or, at least, he was taller than me.

Kenma laughed as he reciprocated the hug, "I missed you too, Kushina...but your getting snot all over my clothes."

I pulled away to gape at him, "You're still as mean as ever!"

His eyes narrowed, "You're still as stupid as ever!"

"Wh-whatever! I still have better chakra control, idiot!"

Kenma opened his mouth to fire back a reply but before he could, Ichigo's voice called out, "Leave it to my brother to find the prettiest girl in all of Konoha."

"She's not pretty!" Kenma shot back with and I kicked him in the shin.

"Hi, Ichi-kun!" I greeted him ignoring the victim's cry of pain and watching as Ichigo was followed by a girl, one with a miffed expression. She had a purple hair, however, making me think of the Ukai clan. The Ukai clan had lived on the island that was dominated by the Uzumaki, but they were actually one of the three major clans of Uzushio, Sakurai being the other one.

I hadn't ever really interacted with any other clans but the Uzumaki's when I lived there.

"Remember," the girl chided, narrowing her eyes at Kenma, who pouted, "we're on a mission, not a social call."

My brows raised, "A mission? What is it?"

"This," Ichigo murmured, holding up a rather familiar scroll.

Wait, no. It couldn't be...

"Your mother would want you to have this," the older teen said, handing it to me and I tired to hold back the tears, I really did. But seeing my long lost cousins, and then _this_, well, who could blame me for getting a bit emotional.

"Kushina," Minato spoke up, eyes weary as he gazed at the twins and their teammate, "What is that?"

"A summoning scroll!" The very one that I couldn't figure out how to use when Satsuki had gifted it to me. I turned to my cousins, "I thought it had been lost! Where was this found?"

"We had actually found it a few years ago, but we weren't able to deliver it without risking it being lost in the mail or being stolen," Ichigo explained, "Then Mito-sama had requested us on a special mission to bring it to you as a promotion gift."

"Obaa-san?" My eyes were wide as I realized why Mito had been so cheerful this morning. She must have had a lot of confidence that I would pass, otherwise, the gift would have been a bit embarrassing to receive.

"Do you know what it summons?" Mikoto asked, curious as she came closer to me, almost territorial as she moved me a bit away from the twins. This action was not missed as Kenma's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know but I could probably figure it out if I-," I cut myself off before mentioning my mother's seal.

"If?" Minato prompted, getting as close as Mikoto did, eyes still weary.

I frowned, things weren't going very well, and I snapped my fingers, "Oh yeah! Ichigo, Kenma, these two are my best friends, Mikoto, " I pointed to her, "and Minato."

"So you _did_ manage to find people to put up with your antics," Kenma laughed, "I'm glad."

"Ah! You can be honest," the nameless girl was saying, eyes sharp and her grin smug.

"This is Yuka Ukai," Ichigo introduced to my questioning stare.

"I like your hair," I blurted out, gazing at her nervously. Yuka looked at me, her expression guarded before she simply nodded.

"Thank you," she simply said.

I guess she took a while to warm up.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Kenma broke it, "Uh, so, Kushina...what have you been doing, aside from helping Mito-sama with her mysterious tasks?"

I nervously laughed, "I...uh, I've been training with Tsunade-nee and I recently got assigned to a team."

"Tsunade...sama?" Yuka looked thoughtful, "Is it the legendary sannin, the Slug Princess?"

"The very one!" I replied with cheerfully and she looked confused.

"I wouldn't have expected someone training under Tsunade-sama, would look so...weak."

There was a collective intake of breath and I fought down the building anger.

"Did you know...I have a nickname here in Konoha," I started with, "I'm known for leaving my victims in a bloody heap of pain. I was five when I took down a genin with just my bare fists."

"What's your nickname...?" Yuka looked uncertain and I felt my hair rise around me, charged with chakra.

"The Bloody Habanero," I informed her, a fiendish cackle escaping from my lips."

"Hmm, that's not very intimidating..." Yuka observed and I had never been so insulted in my life. My face flamed.

I opened my mouth but surprisingly, Mikoto and Minato came to my defense, saying no words as they glared at her darkly, well, Minato didn't _really_ glare, but he was trying. They each had a hand on me protectively.

"Ne, Kushina, I remember now, my mother told me to bring Minato and you to the house so that we could celebrate our promotion. Their mission is complete, so why don't we just get going now, so she doesn't yell at us, no?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Minato added and I heaved a sigh.

"Okay. Sorry, Ichigo, Kenma," I looked at them apologetically, "Maybe I'll catch you again before you guys leave."

"Right," Ichigo bit out, a glare sent in the direction of Yuka, who tried to look innocent.

"We'll be here all week," Kenma cheerfully informed me and I exhaled in relief. Maybe I could catch them later to talk about what happened to Uzushio. I was pretty curious about it.

"See you guys later!"

* * *

><p><strong>Teams - <strong>**分隊**

* * *

><p><em>Minato<em>

He still didn't know how to feel about such a busy day, even after the fact of it.

First, he had ended up on a team with _the_ Jiraiya, only to be surprised by his personality. To which he had to remind himself that all shinobi were allowed to be a little eccentric, given their line of work.

Minato wondered what he'd be like if he ever made it as far as to become a jounin. Would he even be like himself or would some event change him? He didn't like the idea of it. Minato prefer ed to be himself, as it was just a simple as breathing.

Then again, he'd still be himself even if he did change, just a different self.

Today was the sort of day that got the Namikaze boy thinking more than normal.

The future is unclear, he decided, and he hoped he didn't end up dead before he could truly explore all his options.

"Wait," Kushina interrupted his musings and they paused on their way back home, after having left the Uchiha clan grounds, stuffed with the cake they had picked up from Kushina's home before they went to celebrate.

"What is it?" Minato asked, confused as to what she was going to ask. He hoped he knew the answer to it too. Sometimes she got a little frustrated with him when he didn't immediately understand what was going on, as if she expected him to know everything.

"You never told me your score!" She reminded, a pout drawing out on her lips and Minato nearly laughed. She, as usual, was just focused on the silliest things.

"I got a score of 22. I had high scores for intelligence and speed. I guess my ninjutsu was okay too."

Kushina laughed, her expression lighting up and for a second Minato thought he forgot to breath. She always looked the prettiest when she smiled in such a way, and especially as the sun began to set, the rays touching her head and making her almost glow. Shining violet eyes gazed at him with such confidence that Minato was nearly stuck just gazing at her, dumbstruck and confused as to why the cherry red haired girl always had such a strange pull on him.

"I knew it! You're the best after all!" Kushina cheered, bouncing on her feet as the two of them just stood in place in the middle of the street.

He still felt breathless as her laughter floated into his ears. He felt his heart beating, thundering, bringing his attention to the fact that he could actually feel it in his ears. He could hear it.

His throat felt dry.

"Huh...? Why are you stuck like that?" She leaned forward, eyes wide with curiosity as her long red hair fell over her shoulders and hung there, glowing with the sun.

Minato blinked, still dumbfounded as his eyes fixated on her hair.

He supposed he had known this entire time, from the moment he first met the gaze of this girl, from the very second he had noticed her vibrant red hair. He had known deep within his gut.

_It's more than a crush_.

This was love.

**Teams - ****分隊**

_Kushina_

Minato was acting strangely.

That was all I could think of when he just...shut down on me.

He looked almost pale. Maybe he was sick?

Worried, I brought my hand up to his forehead and as my palm made contact... His entire face flushed bright red, even his ears. My concern only deepening I decided to try out the diagnostic jutsu Tsunade had taught me a year ago.

With a blue palm, I touched his forehead and was miffed when nothing popped up. Well, aside from an accelerated heartbeat but it wasn't anything dangerous or life threatening.

"Minato?" I called again, finally garnering a response as he met my eyes.

"Y-yes?"

'What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!"

"Are you sure?" I narrowed my eyes at him, drawing in close for intimidation sakes. He took a distinctive step back. Surprised and a little offended, I just stepped forward again - only to watch as he moved away once more.

"Minato!" I chided, a little distressed. He had never done this before, why start now?

"I-I need to go home right now," Minato abruptly said as he quickly dodged around my feeble attempts to grab him.

"You _have_ been holding back in spars!" I yelled out, completely taken by surprise at how quickly he was moving, as if the wind was making way just for him.

"I'll see you later, Kushina!"

So there I stood, stunned and a little bit miffed by what had just occurred.

What could possibly be going on in that stupid boys head was beyond me.

Shrugging the worry aside, knowing he wasn't going to bleed to death, I spun on my heel and marched toward the Senju clan home.

* * *

><p><strong>Teams - <strong>**分隊 ****- End**

* * *

><p>AN: This was fun! Aaaaaaaaah, I hope I have as much fun writing the next chapter as I did this one.

Cough. I missed Kenma. Cough.

Edit: _So_ many people corrected me on Jiraiya's name aaaaah. Thank you! It's not that I don't know how to spell it, it's just, for sake of gaining speed of typing, I just usually type a simplified version and then do find and replace. So you may actually see that mistake in the future. Thanks everyone!


	9. Attached - 愛着

**Infamy - ****汚名**

* * *

><p><em><strong>9<strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Mikoto<em>

_I don't have the time for this_, the Uchiha decided as she quickly skirted around the edge of her bedroom, aiming to slip out through the window.

"Mikoto!" She heard her mother's voice call and she winced. _Alas, never seeing Fugaku's face again wasn't meant to be_. In fact, she had seen him every single day since the marriage was officially arranged. That was too much _before_ that meeting had happened, and it was definitely too much afterwards.

With a sigh, the raven-haired girl straightened her back and with as much dignity that she could muster, she walked out of her bedroom.

And right into Fugaku's chest.

Mentally cursing to herself, she stepped back and looked at him with schooled features. By now, she had a mastered poker face. It took a lot of effort to not burst into laughter every time Kushina said something stupid, cute, or both. Because the girl was smart, which made moments like those highly humorous.

"Hn, your mother sent me to retrieve you. It's time for breakfast."

It was all Fugaku said as he turned and walked punctually to the kitchen, with a frustrated Mikoto following behind.

"Kaa-san!" She called as they reached the threshold to the room her mother cooked in, "I don't need breakfast. My team and I are grabbing a bite in the mornings now," Mikoto informed her mother and watched as Masuna popped her head out, a small frown on her face.

"Going out for breakfast, Mikoto," she corrected and Mikoto felt her cheeks heat up slightly. She was probably picking up too much of Kushina's speech. Next thing to happen would be Mikoto actually ending her sentences with 'dattebane'. She shuddered, it was only a matter of time.

Hn. Perhaps the separation was good for something.

"I'll keep that in mind, Kaa-san," Mikoto called back before slipping off her slippers and shoving her feet into her outdoors shoes.

"You need to stop hanging out with that girl. She's rubbing off her bad habits on you," Fugaku was lecturing as he followed behind her to the front door.

With tense shoulders, Mikoto whipped around to look at the kid and with a downright venomous glare and tone, she murmured out darkly, "I'd sooner marry her than you."

He looked stunned but Mikoto didn't care. She was just so _frustrated_ and yet she couldn't properly express it because the clan would frown on her which would only bring her parents disappointment.

Huffing out a sigh, the Uchiha girl swiftly left the house to head over to her team's training grounds.

When she got there, Minato stood, onigiri in hand, talking animatedly with Jiraiya. The sannin only seemed to reciprocate as the two of them had wide eyes.

"...know fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya was asking as she got within hearing range. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her two best friends had always gone on about seals and numbers but Mikoto never really had the patience for it. Or rather, she didn't have the art skills to get anywhere within that specialization.

Mikoto could remember times when she felt jealousy that the two of them had _that _to share but then she had to remind herself how Kushina has only ever slept at her house and never his.

"K-Kushina has been teaching me," Minato was blushing and the Uchiha couldn't help but lift a brow at that. It had been an entire three days since the three of them had hung out. Something had obviously been wrong with the two but every time she had seen Kushina, she was only a bit angered by his sudden disappearance in her life.

"_It's not like I'm his keeper, he can come and explain himself to me whenever he wants to. I certainly did nothing wrong,"_ Kushina had said and it had only made her more confused.

Why had the puppy of their group, always so loyal and supportive, suddenly want to leave them.

"I see you blushing!" Jiraiya was laughing now, his large frame shaking and his voice deep, "Is this Kushina your girlfriend?"

"N-no! I don't l-like her at all that way!" Minato denied and Mikoto suddenly had the feeling that _this_ was why he was avoiding Kushina.

For one thing, Minato never stuttered unless he was severely nervous, or he was _lying_. The blonde had grown comfortable enough with the Toad Sage that the first one could be crossed out, so the only thing left was the latter.

She didn't know how to feel about that new information. Minato actually _liked_ Kushina. She wished she could say that she'd seen it coming but in all honesty, he had only ever treated Kushina like a friend. Even when she joked about them getting married, he never betrayed any emotion over that. Only Kushina did but that was due to her being vehemently against love and marriage.

Mikoto couldn't help her laughter as she realized what kind of task he had ahead of himself, "Good luck with that, Minato! She'd sooner say she loves me than you."

"I said I didn't l-like her that way," Minato was still fumbling causing the Uchiha to get close enough to pat him on the back.

"You need to get better at lying if you aim to become the Hokage."

"Ah, so my student wants to become the Hokage?" Jiraiya asked, a grin on his face as he gave a hearty laugh, "Well it's a good thing that I was trained by the guy who's the current one."

"We know," came Shikou Nara's voice as he walked in like a well fed cat, lazy and lanky as he was, "you brag about it every chance you get." It was said dryly but with the little twinkle in his eye, he meant it jokingly.

"Well, kid," Jiraiya said seriously, a sharp glint in his eye as he grinned, "I am not only the greatest student of Sarutobi Hiruzen, I am the Toad Sage! I summon the biggest and largest toads to aid me on the battlefield but not only that," Jiraiya leaned theatrically towards the Nara, his body forming into a kabuki pose, "I'm one of the Legendary Sannin!"

"And a super pervert at that," Mikoto grumbled under her breath as she gazed at him. He would only need the make-up, then he would fit right in with real kabuki.

Her teacher twitched before seemingly ignoring her comment as he laid his meaty hands on his hips, "Okay, team, tomorrow we'll be heading out on our first mission to one of our bases to pass along private information. It should only be a days trip so pack lightly."

Kushina was going to be so jealous when she found out.

"Yes, sensei!" the three of them chorused and faintly Mikoto realized that without Minato or Kushina being so close to her, she never would've taken the exams until her parents told her to. Probably, in another universe, this team would have looked a lot different. For one thing, they probably wouldn't have specialized, and Minato's team would have had a second civilian, him being the single non-clan member of their team.

With a wry smile, she decided that she liked this take on the universe.

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

It was hard trying to get the twins alone. Very hard.

Firstly, Yuka was _always_ with them and then there was the added fact that, oh hey, Hakuba likes to do missions back to back and give us no time to rest. He was worse than Tsunade when she packed in her lessons.

The first day, after we had gotten finished up with training, we did three all in the span in an afternoon. That, as it turns out, was the bare minimum we had to accomplish in an entire day. I didn't really bother to keep track of how many we had done, but in the last three days, I felt as if Isamashii and Kira had become easier to work with (I was starting to be able to read into Kira's actions , so I suppose there was a some good that came out of the exhaustion.

If I was more honest, I'd even say that Hakuba was an excellent teacher.

"I just want to ask how the village is doing," I groaned, face on the table in my bedroom as Mikoto got dressed in front of me. She was going to spend the night, which was a much needed reprieve from all the boys I'd been hanging around. I'd already changed into some spandex shorts and a tank top but she took a little extra time to get dressed.

"Then why don't you just ask all three of them," Mikoto dryly suggested, the tightness around her eyes saying how much of a bother it was to talk about them. I bit my lip, considering my next words carefully.

"That girl scares me. Every time I see her, it's like she knows everything about me and I find it very disconcerting.

"Maybe your boy toys told her about you. They are teammates after all."

"Hmm, I guess," I relented before my face reddened and I sat up, "Hey!"

Mikoto snorted, "You didn't deny it."

"They aren't!" I cried, "They aren't my boy toys."

She grinned, "Good. Otherwise, Minato would be so..." She trailed off, snickering to herself.

"What would Minato be?" I asked curiously and she just shook her head, sliding on her shorts. She had on a sly expression, "No, tell me!"

"Eh, I was just thinking that you already have enough toys."

My brows furrowed. What could that mean? I asked her, only with her to reply with a snort as she dodged the question.

"By the way, what's so special about those two anyway?"

"About Ichigo and Kenma?" I asked, them being the only people that came to mind when she spoke in such a way.

"Yeah," she confirmed, looking unimpressed by my stellar deduction skills.

"Well, I guess it's because they're my cousins. I mean, I grew up with them and we were sort of raised as siblings," I laughed, "Kenma was the most annoying one, by far."

"Hn."

"Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," she sighed, "I was stopped by the stupid one on my way to training, and he was asking for directions to your place. Apparently none of them had thought to ask where Mito-sama even _lived_. A group of idiots, if you ask me."

I just snickered before sobering up as I drew the conversation away from the boys, "How are you feeling about your first C-rank tomorrow?" I glanced at her pack, filled with everything she would need on her mission.

"I don't know. Something feels wrong with us being specialized so soon. I'm just worried that Konoha has gotten themselves in too much trouble. I mean, I know we're basically canon fodder to the higher ups, but both of our teams are filled with clan kids. Well, except Minato but even his own parents were shinobi."

I mulled over the thought, "Maybe it has something to do with Uzushio..." To the best of my knowledge, Mikoto hadn't been on Jiraiya's team in canon, but I had honestly just chalked it up to my influence over her as a friend. That was most likely the reason in her case, but I wasn't sure if a Nara had been Minato's third teammate.

How much had Uzushio's survival change?

Mikoto just sighed, "It's getting late. Let's get some sleep. We both have to get up early in the morning," she reminded me and I nodded.

"But first!" I jumped up, palms outstretched as I looked at her devilishly, "Tickle fight!"

"Ah, Kushina!" She yelped when I jumped at her, ready to hear her laughter.

That stuff was to be worried about later. Besides, only time would tell how much of an impact Uzushio's standing had made.

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p>"Come here, Kushina," Mito called to me as Mikoto and I prepared to leave. I hopped over to her, worried that she was out of bed at such an hour.<p>

"What's wrong?" I whispered, my brows furrowed.

"Nothing," she smiled at me, as she brought her weathered hand out to caress my head, "I'm just very happy you are here."

I flushed, "Are you sure everything's fine? It sounds like your saying good bye for some reason."

"That's a silly thought, Kushina," Mito laughed, but she wasn't denying it, "Have you been meditating like I instructed you to do."

I nodded, "Even when it's boring."

"Alright then, I suppose you're ready to delve into your mindscape, no?"

I jumped up, worry disappearing as I grinned, "Is it cool to see within your own brain?"

Mito laughed, patting my head gently, "You're not seeing your brain, your seeing something that isn't physical. Remember what I said? This is something very special that I talked the Yamanaka clan into divulging so keep it a secret."

I snickered, "Yes!"

"Oh!" Mikoto's voice interjected, sounding surprised, "Good morning, Mito-sama." I turned to see her bowing the full ninety degrees and I chuckled to myself.

"Good morning, Mikoto-chan but there's no need to be so formal."

Mikoto looked distressed, "I'll try, Mito-sama."

The elderly woman laughed, eyes lighting up, "I suppose that's the best I'll get out of an Uchiha. Always so bound by rules. They need to learn to live a little, right Kushina?"

"Right!"

"Ah, I have been meaning to talk to you for some time, Mikoto-chan," Mito said, causing the two of us to glance up at her in curiosity, "I want to thank you for having taken care of my dear Kushina for all these years. It hasn't been easy for her, but yet you have still brought to her many fine memories and laughter, which is something I will be eternally grateful for. Please tell that to Minato-kun as well. But add that," Mito leaned in close to a flushing Mikoto, whispering in her ear something I couldn't hear.

I pouted but I suppose it was only a message for him.

When Mito pulled away, Mikoto looked almost as if she wanted to laugh, but restrained herself by bowing and thanking her for the compliments and informing Mito that she would deliver the message today, when they left on their mission.

"Please do," Mito murmured softly in reply as she patted my head, "Well, I won't keep you too long from your duties. If you'll excuse me," she gave one last stroke over my locks before promptly leaving the room.

"Mito-sama sure has a sense of humor," Mikoto snickered to herself and I narrowed my eyes are her.

"What did she say?"

"Eh, nothing really," she smirked.

"You're lying!" I cried, mouth agape as I jumped after her before she could flee. Mikoto slipped easily past.

"I'll see you later!" she yelled back and I huffed out a sigh.

"Tch, you better be careful!"

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p>"Aha!"<p>

I restrained from yelping out in surprise as I spun around to see Kenma laughing and Ichigo smirking, "The two of you never change," I ground out, narrowing my eyes. It was the seventh day into their stay, meaning they would be leaving soon. I still hadn't managed to catch them without Yuka but could it be that they were looking for me? My expression softened.

"We could say the same to you, Kushina," Ichigo replied with making me shake my head with amusement, "We've been looking for you, by the way, but you're an unusually busy genin."

I shrugged, "Not something I can change. So why have you been looking for me?" I asked them confused, "I mean, I just wanted to talk about Uzushio."

"To catch up," Kenma said first, before laughing, bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish manner, "A lot of things have actually changed, huh? You used to always have time for us. Almost an insufferable amount of time."

"Things have changed," I echoed softly before smiling, "Let's hope its for the better. Hmm, why don't we go get dango? Tell me everything that you know. What happened to Arisa-san? How is Aisa-chan and her aunt? Is the clan leader doing well? Who had been chosen for the clan heir, he must be getting old! Oh! What about Wataru-san? It seems he was the leader of all the rebuilding going on."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be so curious," Ichigo murmured, eyes a tad bit wide, "Let's go get dango then."

I nodded, grinning as the three of us walked in companionable silence and I led them to the best dango shop of Konoha. It also served as a tea house, but most shinobi didn't step foot into the place for that reason. We were all in it for the sweets.

After we ordered and paid, taking our seats on a bench outside of the establishment, I couldn't help but sigh in contentment. It was almost like old times, when we could go see Mika and get an after school snack.

Perhaps a bit wistfully, I turned to look at them, "So?" I prompted them.

"Hmm, well, Arisa-chan is fine. She's actually getting married...to Wataru-san. Aisa-chan is now one of the best medics at the hospital, along with her aunt. They're both in charge of the place, actually. What was your other question?" Ichigo asked, searching his head.

"Clan leader? How is the guy and who will be the new heir?"

"He's doing well, he's a lot kinder, that's for sure," Kenma grumbled under his breath about a cranky bag of old bones and I snickered, "As for the heir..." He slid a glance to a flushing Ichigo, "You're looking at the guy."

I gaped, "No way! You'd be awesome at the job!"

"Thanks," Ichigo murmured, almost shyly.

Before I could tease him about it, our order came out and the three of us were soon munching on a stick of dango.

"This is actually really good. Not as good as Uzushio," Kenma noted, "but good."

I nodded, "You should go out to Ichiraku's, this ramen shop, the recipe is actually based off of Uzushio"

"Is it any good?" Ichigo asked curiously and I nodded.

"The flavor is watered down for Konoha's preferences," I added as an afterthought, "But it's still there."

We were quiet, lost in thought as we nibbled on our treats before Kenma suddenly asked, "Are you ever homesick?"

I considered the question seriously and confidently nodded, "I am a lot of the time. It helps when I have friends to keep my thoughts off of home, but they don't always work. I still have Kaa-san's memories so it as if I've forgotten what our island looks like. I miss it a lot."

"You never write to us," Kenma mumbled, almost bitterly and I looked at him in mute surprise.

"You haven't been getting my letters?" I asked, hollowly, swallowing thickly as I realized the reason that they had never written back.

The two boys looked shocked, "So you have?"

I nodded, "I've been sending pictures too. I wanted you guys to know everything. For a while, I was angry but I figured that the two of you were to busy," I set aside my stick as I leaned back, stretching out my body, "I'm just glad I've actually gotten to see the both of you once more."

"I wonder why they haven't been sending," Ichigo said with a thin voice, I shrugged.

"Maybe this summon can fly and I could just send them that way," I suggested, pointing to the scroll strapped to my side. I still hadn't taken the time to study it, too nervous about the whole thing.

"You haven't looked at it yet?" Kenma sounded surprised and when I turned to see his face, I saw him him chuckling to himself.

I narrowed my eyes, "Do you know what it is?"

The twins nodded, "We thought Satsuki-san had very good taste, and an actual sense of humor."

"What is it?" I asked, jumping up as I faced the two of them head on, "Tell me!"

"Are you sure you don't want to find out for yourself?" Ichigo asked and I gave him a look.

"What's the difference?"

They shared a look before they grinned devilishly and said in unison, "Tigers"

I gaped, surprised, "No way! That's so cool!"

They nodded, as they stood up, after having tossed their sticks to the garbage can to their left.

"Well, we should be going. Yuka wanted to get together for lunch."

I snickered to myself, "I hope you haven't spoiled the meal."

They just outright laughed, "That won't be possible, we've got as big as appetite as you," Ichigo joked.

"That's saying something," Kenma tacked on and I couldn't help the grin that spread out on my face.

I drew both of them into a hug, "I love both of you a lot, you got that?"

"We love you too," Kenma had said while Ichigo just softened into the hug, patting my back.

I pulled away first, pointing an accusatory finger at them, "Don't get much taller than that, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kenma waved me off, "See you again soon."

Then the two were off, and I was left alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" I called and found the house empty. I couldn't help but be surprised. Ever since Mito had been restricted to her bedroom, there was always someone around to take care of all her needs. Suspicious, I checked Mito's room, only to close it as I found it was empty. She must have been at the hospital, or maybe she had taken a trip to the grave to give Hashirama's grave some flowers. She did that sometimes but usually she invited me with.<p>

I felt chills run through my back as I stood up straight. Someone was here but it was a familiar presence.

Biting my lip, I quietly made my way to the backyard in hopes of slipping out. It wasn't meant to be.

I saw their faces before anything else but I didn't waste too much time observing them. Instead, I took off running, nearly slipping on the floor as I panicked. I didn't know it was supposed to happen so quickly after I graduated! My blood ran cold as I was brought down, kicking and screaming. One of them had my arms pressed into my back and my struggling ceased. With a flick of his wrist, he could break a bone, I could feel it.

"No!"

"Shut her up," a thin voice commanded and I shook in fear feeling the killer intent as if it were a cloak on my body. With wide eyes that threatened to spill tears, I felt them shutting involuntarily as my entire world faded to black.

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p><em>Minato<em>

_Kushina has been kidnapped_.

It was still ringing in his ears after having heard it from Mikoto, who had ran into the training grounds panting. It had sent Jiraiya away from the two and Minato had known that she at least was being looked for. However, he had to do his part.

The expression of raw terror on her face sold the truth to him as he had immediately taken off, jumping into the trees to get a good vantage point. He needed to find her, needed to get to her before bad things could happen to her.

Minato felt sick.

Why had he been ignoring her anyway? It was senseless and stupid and she shouldn't have been left alone. _He_ shouldn't have left her side. That expression on Kushina's face when he last saw her, that look of curious confusion, her violet eyes alight with humor and her skin looking as soft as her hair, it didn't want to leave as he continued his search. He wanted to tell her, he didn't even care that she didn't like him back in the same way. He just wanted her back, and close, and most definitely in his sights.

He wished that he could just teleport to her, to simply warp through space and time and keep her safe from all of this. That's what he _really_ wanted.

Desperately, he observed the surrounding area and finally slid down from the tree when that proved fruitless.

Minato wasn't thinking straight. There was supposed to be an order to things, an _order_. What it that could be was entirely hidden in his rather distraught consciousness while he surveyed the area around him.

Mikoto had gone already, probably searching for Kushina like he was.

With a whimper, the fact that Kushina wasn't safe kept hitting him in the gut, over and over again. It was as if the ache couldn't get worse, but Minato was only to be proven wrong when his stiff body continued to . He couldn't handle stuff like this yet, he wasn't _ready_ to lose someone he loved.

Just when all hope seemed lost, and the world looked bleak, he saw it.

A single red strand of hair. He picked it up, his accelerated heartbeat slowing down as he looked to see if there were more. Miraculously enough, strand after strand, he realized that they made a trail.

"That's just like her," Minato couldn't help but say out loud with a laugh as relief filled his body. They could find her now. _He_ could find her.

And so he did.

With the stealth skills he'd picked up on from missions with Jiraiya, he traveled by tree, his movements nearly silent as he followed the trail. They had gotten pretty far and eventually he had to sneak out of the village borders. He probably should have gone to tell someone but he had a strange feeling that _he_ was the only one that should find her.

It didn't matter how much time it took, he would reach her.

He had been running for about an hour now, siphoning out his chakra in doses to relieve the stress of keeping up such a pace. He jumped from tree to tree, never making a sound as he took care to tread carefully.

With sharp eyes, he kept a watch out for her, surveying his surroundings with each step.

A flash of vibrant cherry red hair, clear to see in the shining moonlight, alerted him to stop.

He'd found her.

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

I had never known my body to feel such exhaustion.

I kept up with a rather hectic pace and I was far from out of shape. My stamina was one of my greatest attributes. But why...?

My head felt light, my eyes, at times, so unfocused that I thought the entire world was melting away. I was about to hurl and for some very strange reason, my chakra was depleting in an unusual fashion. They'd probably done something to me but I was too tired to really care. Minato better come soon. He'd better come soon.

What if he didn't come?

Immediately, I wanted to deny that possibility but what if I had done things so differently from the real Kushina that he had learned to hate me. He _had_ been ignoring me so it wasn't entirely unthinkable. I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my chest, my blood almost freezing as I wished desperately for that not to be true.

We continued to walk, the ropes around my waist and hands rubbing and twisting over my skin. I was going to have a pretty irritating rash if I got away.

_Where did that come from_? It was the only thing I could think as I roughly tripped over a rock, hitting the dirt none too gently. The breath I had knocked out but still, I was forced to stand back up, the man with my leash, wrenching me up with a dispassionate flick of his arms.

I was panting, my hair messily hanging over my face as I had to see through it. I took another step forward, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep.

Behind me, the man that had been keeping a close hold on me fell.

I don't think I had ever felt that much relief in my entire two lives as I watched a golden flash take down the other two guys with relative ease.

It was over that quickly, in the blink of an eye. One second I was a hostage, and then the next I was safe, Minato standing right in front of me.

I fell to my knees, breathing harshly as I continued to blink away the tears that I wanted to shed.

With the calmest expression I had ever seen on his face, he slid a kunai over the ropes, promptly freeing me as I fell into his open arms. With a gentle, supportive murmur, Minato picked me up as I weakly gazed up at him.

"You came," I whispered, feeling my entire body shake with an unknown emotion. Joy? Happiness? I couldn't put a name to it.

"Of course I did," Minato replied with as we made our great escape, him jumping to the trees as I held on for the ride.

"But why?" I wanted to know, still trying to hold back the tears, "You...I thought you hated me..."

"I couldn't ever hate you, Kushina. You are...very precious to me."

"Then why? Why did you leave me alone? Why did you just disappear on me?" I was too weak to hit him, but that wouldn't account for later. He was surely in line for a beating when I was feeling up to par.

He was quiet, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Why?" I prompted him, desperate to know what had taken my best friend away.

"I'm... I can't tell you yet."

I froze before hesitantly asking with wide eyes, "Why?"

Why couldn't he tell me?

He looked calm, as if he'd finally come to peace with whatever had been bothering him. I couldn't help but be happy for him, even if I was kind of frustrated with the fool.

"I don't want you to worry about that now," he stuttered, that calm expression vanishing as his face burst into a blush, "You should focus on getting your strength back."

I raised a brow, "Are you saying I'm heavy."

"No!" His eyes went wide, "I would never think that." His face colored, "You'd be perfect no matter what you looked like."

There was something so _genuine_ in the way he said it, making me almost believe him yet I couldn't bring myself to. I wasn't perfect, far from it. I found myself sighing and leaning into him. If only what he said was true but I wasn't Kushina. Not the real one, at least. I just had her name and face.

Life is confusing. So terribly, horrifyingly confusing.

I couldn't say anything as the tears I'd been holding back fell. I let out a choked sob but tried to muffle it with my hands, only then feeling the sting that the ropes had left. I whimpered, terror of being stuck and trapped in this dangerous world filling my body as I shook. They had made a terrible mistake in placing me here.

A terrible, terrible mistake.

"Kushina...? Kushina!" Minato panicked as I just clung to him, feeling too much of everything at that moment. Confusion, fear, exhaustion, anger, resentment, relief, happiness, joy...and then, and then there was that unidentifiable feeling that I was wracked with every time I looked up at Minato.

I tried to explain it to him, I truly did, but I was too far gone in my sobbing, clutching onto his jacket with all my might.

I don't know really how much time had passed before everything around me got brighter. Any moment now I would just go to sleep. Right after I stopped crying, that is.

"What happened to her?" I heard a confused voice say. It was Tsunade.

"I don't know, she just...I don't know!" Minato cursed underneath his breath, "Can you take her? She's low on chakra, and I'm fairly certain that she has severe wounds on her wrists."

"Of course," Tsunade murmured and I felt the shift occur in a blink of an eye as I was snuggled against her large breasts. I didn't even care anymore. I was too busy trying to gain my breath as I hiccuped, "Sweetie, what's wrong, what happened?"

I didn't respond but I finally managed to calm down enough that I could _breathe_. The tears were still falling though. I couldn't see anything but Tsunade's blurry figure in front of my face but even then I was feeling rather disoriented.

"I need you to tell me what happened to you Kushina."

"Boys are stupid!" I wailed as I rubbed the tears away, my eyes puffy.

Tsunade blinked, having not expected that, "Okay...?"

"Boys are stupid!" I repeated, adamant about this fact.

"I agree with you completely, but can you tell me what happened?"

"Okay," I sniffed, "I'll tell you."

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p><em>Mikoto<em>

"That's strange, I don't know if I believe you," the Uchiha girl said bluntly and Minato looked stricken.

"I know you don't, but it's true," he murmured mournfully.

"So she wouldn't stop crying?" Mikoto asked, mildly surprised about that. Kushina wasn't the crying type.

"Yeah, I don't know if I did something wrong or..." Minato sighed as he trailed off, blue eyes dark.

Mikoto huffed out a breath before knocking shoulders with him, "I doubt she was crying because of something you did. Unless...you confessed to her. Now, _that_ would scare her."

Minato scowled, the expression odd on the usually calm boy, "I didn't tell her."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

There was silence before Mikoto spoke up, "I wonder why she was kidnapped by Kumo-nin, of all things."

"I wouldn't know."

"She has special chakra," a new voice piped up, causing the two genin to jump. The both of them looked up to see Ichigo there, a frowning Kenma close behind him. Yuka was no where to be seen.

"Special chakra...?" Minato looked confused.

"He chakra is very unique, even in the Uzumaki clan itself."

"What does it do?" Mikoto asked, always weary of the two boys.

Ichigo smirked, "That's top-secret. All you get to know is that it's the reason for her kidnapping."

"Can I at least know one thing?" The blonde boy asked, eyes serious, yet slightly curious.

"What?" Kenma snapped, obviously upset over the whole ordeal.

"Does it affect her health? Is there anything we should be on the look out for?"

The younger twin looked surprised, "Why would...? I guess you are her friend after all," he released a dry chuckle, "As far as I know, it won't."

"Except," Ichigo interjected, "I'm not sure when, but there will come a time...," he paused, seemingly frustrated as he brought his left hand to his face, "Except...how do I phrase this?"

"Just spit it out," Mikoto impatiently snapped.

"There will be a time that you must stay very, very far away from her when she's angered. If she's on the verge of a mental breakdown, don't hesitate to knock her out."

"Why would we do that?" Mikoto couldn't even fathom hurting her friend for just having emotions.

"Trust me, she'll be thankful for the help," Ichigo sounded serious, his shoulders tense and his jaw set, as if this secret had been weighing down on him for quite a long time.

"What are you even talking about, Ichi?" Kenma asked, lost and it was somewhat strange seeing two different expressions on the same face as Mikoto glanced back and forth.

"It's better if you don't know, Ken. Now, let's go find Yuka before she murders someone."

The two brothers walked away, leaving the genins to ponder of what had just been said.

"Well, that was certainly something," she commented and Minato just sighed.

"I wonder what I can do to cheer her up."

"Why is she sad in the first place?" Mikoto asked, only saying it to humor the boy. She'd been done with this conversation for quite a bit of time by then.

"I don't know."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, Kushina was_ just _kidnapped, you couldn't know what she's thinking right now. It could have been from the fear, or maybe she was just strongly relieved that you kicked their asses. It doesn't have to be that she's sad. Besides, it'll pass."

"No," Minato frowned, "She started crying after I didn't tell her why I've been avoiding her."

Mikoto flipped her hair, frowning as she said, "You _love_ her...but you obviously don't know her very well if you think that's the case." No way in hell would her best friend be crying over something to stupid.

"I know," he sighed, making Mikoto narrow her eyes, "I'm an idiot. Kushina hates me."

"If you don't stop with this sighing and whining bull crap I will call you embarrassing nicknames in front of her. Like, say, Lover Boy, Mister-I've-Got-A-Crush, or, _or_, get this one, My-Name-Is-Minato-Namikaze-And-I'm-In-Love-With-Kushina-Uzumaki."

Minato titled his head away, his bangs coming to shroud his face. Mikoto was nearly worried that he'd hurt his feelings even more, but after a moment of silence, tiny laughter resounded in the air.

"Pft..." It was coming from Minato and then suddenly, he was bent over, clutching his sides to contain the laughter.

_Did I just break him?_

"Oi, it wasn't that funny," The raven-haired girl reached out a hand to nudge his shoulder. He just laughed harder, "No, seriously. It wasn't that funny." He didn't respond, only agitating Mikoto more, "I'm serious!" She stamped her left foot, only sending him into another round of laughter. Her face flamed before she groaned out, "I'm going to go eat something if you don't stop."

"S-sorry!" He was stuttering out as he tried to regain his breath. Mikoto scowled, knowing she couldn't leave the lunatic alone.

"You better be," she grumbled out as she settled against the wall to wait it out.

After about a minute, as she tried to figure out what had been nagging at her all day, she jumped, snapping the Namikaze boy out of his laughter. With wide eyes of her own, she started to nearly choke on her laughs as she pounding her fist on his shoulder.

"What is it?" He was asking, alarmed.

"You wanna know what Mito-sama told me to tell you a few days ago?" She wheezed out, begging her body to quit.

"What?"

"She said that you should marry Kushina as soon as possible if you want to keep her away from the two stooges."

"M-Marriage!?" Minato blanched at the notion, sending Mikoto into another round of whooping laughter before she finally sobered up.

"Yeah," she wiped away a stray tear, "marriage. This is funny to me because I highly doubt Kushina could ever get to that point with anyone. Love is not a word in her dictionary."

Minato looked stricken, "Someday...someday it could be!"

"Alright, Lover Boy."

He snorted, trying to cover it up as a cough before saying in a calm voice, "Don't call me that."

"Yes, yes, Boy-Who-Is-In-Love-With-Kushina."

"Mikoto," he whined and she just waved him off. Boy was stupid if he thought he would get out of this one. It was time for the pay back of being left with a depressed Minato for the past week. Which, let it be known, isn't very fun.

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

"I know what you are."

I looked up, surprised. My eyes were still puffy and red, but on the inside, I felt a lot better than in comparison to when I had come in. My wrists and abdomen didn't hurt anymore, that was a sure plus.

However, that didn't change the fact that Yuka stood before me, talking to me as if she were addressing what was for breakfast.

"Excuse me?" I asked, almost certain that I had misheard her.

"I know what you are," she repeated and the before I could reply, she went on, "I know that you're a reincarnation of someone else."

My eyes widened, "What...what are you talking about?"

Yuka rolled her eyes as she sat down at the foot of the bed, "You don't have to hide it. After all, my sister was one too."

"C-come again?" I spluttered out.

"It's not that hard to believe, you know. Reincarnation is natural and normal. What _isn't_ normal, is when they remember their past life," With narrowed eyes, Yuka leaned in, "What do you remember?"

I blinked, not sure what to make of this change of events that had come on suddenly.

The girl before me leaned back, frowning, "My sister didn't remember much, but then, I wouldn't know if she was holding things back," there was a moment of silence as she jumped up to pace across the room, "Speak up!" she snapped, "This shouldn't be a one-sided conversation."

"I'm just," I started, "I...I thought I was the only one."

Yuka snorted, "You thought you were special? As if," her eyes turned dark, "When people die, the world keeps spinning. It wouldn't matter if you still had things to do, everyone will go on sooner or later. Death is inevitable, after all."

I narrowed my eyes, "What do you want from me?"

"Information," she said simply, "What came after the Kyuubi's attack?"

"I won't tell you."

She grinned, "You will. I always get my way, you know. Life is too short to pussyfoot around."

There was silence as I just glared at her. She hadn't given me any reason to trust her with such valuable information.

Yuka raised a brow as she continued on in a sing-song voice, "I know something, you don't know."

"_What?_" I grounded out in a thin voice.

"An exchange then. Tell me something small, and I will too."

I narrowed my eyes before searching my mind on what to say. My gut told me to find out what she knew. It was something important, I could feel. Something after the Kyuubi's attack...I sighed, "The masked man desires a fabrication."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She scowled and I heaved a groan.

"I told you something, now keep your end of the deal."

Her eyes narrowed before she shrugged, "You'd find out eventually, I suppose. Mito-sama is in the hospital, and she'll be dying soon."

I looked at her with wide eyes. No, that couldn't be. She must be lying.

There was a knock at the door.

I cringed, and watched in awe struck horror as Jiraiya himself walked in. He looked grim, but tried for a smile as he laid his eyes on me. I shook my head. This couldn't be true.

"If you'll give us a moment of privacy," the Toad Sage dressed Yuka and she nodded, waving at me before she left the room. With a click, the door shut.

"So, it's happening...?"

"It's happening."

I withheld a sob, my blood freezing. Couldn't I just have a simple moment of peace for once? Just for once I wanted to forget everything and run to a lively and healthy Mito. I didn't want this. But then, I guess it wasn't like I could run now.

"Okay," I numbly said, and vaguely it felt like my mind was switching gears. The emotions that had clouded my thoughts vanished. There wasn't pain, nor was I worried about anything in particular. It was very simple, actually, on what would be happening. Mito would die and I would be the new Jinchuuriki, "Okay." I repeated.

"Right...So, as you may know, Kushina-chan, I am two of your friend's teacher."

"I know." My voice sounded hollow to my ears.

"Did you also know that I was trained by Mito-sama in the art of fuinjutsu?"

I guess that made sense. The Sarutobi clan was on friendly terms with the Senju clan.

"Are you going to be sealing the Kyuubi within me?"

"If that is what you want. It just so happens that we have three eligible seal masters, other than myself, that you could pick from."

"You mean my cousins and that Yuka girl?" I grimaced, "No, you should do it." If I thought about it now, I could see that three of them had probably stayed this long after the delivery of the scroll just for me to pick who would do the sealing.

"Are you certain about this?"

"Yes."

"Then, let's get started."

* * *

><p><strong>Attached - <strong>**愛着****- End**

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for the influx of reviews, wow! I was pleasantly surprised that so many people was a fan of Minato's POV, and there had been a request for Mikoto's. I'm glad that everyone is comfortable with a gathering of point of views because this story will be having more than just those three. I have some surprises in store for you guys in later chapters.

Next chapter will be a long one, about 7-9k, I'm guessing. So it may take awhile for me to update. It doesn't help that I sold myself to a thing called a chorus battle (FCCB, to be exact) and I have a limited amount of time for writing.

Also, I've started to write a new story which should be up about two weeks, with long chapters. If your interested in Konan, then I suggest you keep an eye out for that.

Edit: This is probably my longest note, but whatever. I recently got a review by chaosrin, talking about the parings. As far as I'm concerned, MinaKushi is solid, and won't be changed. As for other pairings, Mikoto and Fugaku will be together (I'm excited to write their romance, don't take that away from me). As for the twins, and for Kenma seemingly to have an attraction to Kushina, she'll have no interest in him back, romantically. As for the kids romances, I'm pretty set in what I want. Here's a hit, I absolutely adored chapter 700, if that's of any clue to that.


	10. Red Beast - 赤い野獣

**Infamy - ****汚名**

* * *

><p><em><strong>10<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Then, let's get started."<p>

Jiraiya's voice sounded strange to my ears but I nodded nonetheless as he asked me to change into a strange white gown that had a circle cut out of the middle of it. I supposed the seal would go there. I knew that the seal wouldn't be visible unless chakra went into it, namely when, _if_ I ever had a freak out. I could only pray that Mito's teachings had prepared me for this day, for what would happen to me.

Soon, I was picked up by an ANBU member with, ironically enough, a fox mask. But I didn't care much about that. Instead, it was the way he picked me up. He held me like something other, like a package to hand over to the Daimyo. I suppose this is what I had to look forward to in the future when living as a Jinchuuriki. Fox launched himself out of the Hospital window and before I knew it, I found myself facing a door. We'd left the hospital only to have entered somewhere into the Hokage's tower. The room had seals gathered over the door, to which the ANBU quickly deactivated them before pulsing his chakra once more, activating it.

I walked into the room after the ANBU member put me down, staring with wide-eyes as I took in Mito's form. She lacked that presence of youth that I'd come to be comforted by, she was pale and her eyes dimmer than usual as she laid on a bed in the lonely, bleak room. She beckoned me forth and I rushed to her side, tears in my eyes. That feeling of indifference was fading then as I continued to gaze at her. I could feel the weakness in her, the fading life, as I took her hand. She squeezed gently, softly and began to speak, "Kushina, I'm sorry that I'm leaving you now... I wanted to be there for your coronation when you finally became Hokage. I wanted to be there..." Her voice was a soft whisper by now, so much so that I had to lean in to hear what she had to say next, "I know you will beat the Kyuubi's hatred. Never forget, Kushina, that you are loved..." Mito's voice faded and I was vigorously nodding.

"Kushina," the Hokage, Sarutobi spoke up, "it's time for you to comply."

I nodded, faintly feeling myself being pulled away from Mito. I was too stunned to resist, in shock that Mito was actually leaving me. My rock, my safety was leaving me and I could do nothing to stop it.

I couldn't do anything as I was made to lie down, stomach revealed. I felt like another person was in my body, as if I were taking a back seat and simply watching as the Kyuubi was extracted from Mito, placed into a sealing jar, and given to the person who would put it in me, Jiraiya, whose expression was bleak and almost lost. Seeing my eyes on his, his face was immediately wiped clean before he smiled in that way that felt like a show. Yet, I was still unable to move. I could do nothing to stop it as I looked over to Mito, her face looking so at peace...but what about me!? I wasn't at peace. I was far from it. I felt like I was dying, just like Mito. I wanted to die, at least, so that I could meet her again, embrace her, eat her cooking, laugh over sneaky pranks and write letters to my cousins.

I didn't want...I didn't want to be a Jinchuuriki. I didn't want to lose Mito! I needed her! It was all I could think as the Kyuubi was then taken out of the container and it got closer to me. My wrist had been strapped when I was in the daze but everything had turned to be so utterly clear as I struggled to be free. If I didn't accept the Kyuubi then they could put it in Mito again and she'd be alive, right? Perfectly fine, as usual. She would laugh that I was so worried. She would laugh...

I shrieked, my entire body exploding in pain as something like lava entered my body. It was like something so _impossibly_ angry had taken a place in my very being and I was scared. So very scared as the pain wracked my body. Something had gone wrong, right? It had gone terribly wrong because it shouldn't have hurt so much.

Oh, God, and the blood! The screams! The burning flesh!

I gasped, trying to breath as I felt like something was clawing its way up my throat. I was being killed, wasn't I? I was being killed and I could do nothing to stop it. I was useless. Useless. Useless. Useless. Useless. Usel-.

I couldn't stop screaming, I couldn't stop feeling the pain, smelling the burning flesh and the distinct scent of blood and I saw images. I saw so many things, so many awful things. Women being raped, children being eaten, men falling to their knees in hunger, the vultures picking them apart as their bodies rotted and became nothing but a sack of bones. It was all I could see, all I could see.

And then... Nothing.

There was no more pain. Instead...

I was in a dark cavern-like place with the only source of light being a flickering oil lamp. I was a shaking mess, but I was too numb to do anything about it as Mito's words echoed in my head, "You are loved." But was I really? No one knew who I was, no one knew that I was an impostor, cloaked in a loved one's skin. No one knew that I knew the future, that the child I was supposed to have was to be named Naruto. No one knew that he was the hero, that he would work and do his very best to save a friend. But where was my hero? Where was _my_ friend? _You are loved._ As if. As, fucking, if.

"**Then why don't we join forces**?" It was the voice of the Kyuubi, of Kurama, "**Just unlock this cage and all will be fine**."

"As if," I told him, echoing my thoughts before turning to face where I could see his eyes, his bright red eyes. He was a red demon, like myself. He was just like me, where he was sealed into people's bodies without his permission, just like me. I, too, would have never chosen to be Kushina. I wouldn't have chosen to be someone so important. I wouldn't have chosen to be an impostor. Yet, I was to blame for it and this... It made me sick. I was tired of it.

I was tired of being a body snatcher. I didn't want to do this anymore.

Ignoring him as we sat quiet in such a dark place, I found myself clutching my knees tightly to my chest.

_You are loved. _

Tch. What a joke.

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Minato<em>

They weren't letting them see her.

"She wasn't _that_ badly injured, was she?" Mikoto inquired, features set in a tight frown as they stood in one of the corridors of the hospital.

"No," Minato replied with confidently. Sure, her chakra reserves had faded at an unusually quick rate but Tsunade had told him that it would be an easy fix with a session of chakra therapy, being that it had merely been a chakra absorption technique. Her wrists hadn't been in that good of a state but it wasn't nearly enough to keep them away from her for _three days_. Even their own teacher had been secretive about the details when they asked him. He was supposed to know something, being as Jiraiya's teammate knew something. It was very frustrating indeed.

Mikoto sighed, "Let's go then. Kushina wouldn't want us wallowing."

"Hm," was Minato's reply, causing the raven-haired girl to knock her shoulder with his.

"Lover Boy," came her snappy tone, making Minato have to try, _really_ try not to laugh in her face, "get over yourself and at the very least _train_. Jiraiya-sensei told me to tell you that we're heading out on a mission tomorrow. It should be a long one, considering it has to deal with leading the Daimyo's wife to her stupid tea party."

"Doesn't the Uchiha clan partake in those tea parties?" Minato asked blithely, trying for a teasing grin. Still, he couldn't help but ache at the thought that it should have been Kushina saying such a thing.

"_Stupid _tea parties," Mikoto corrected before nodding, a scowl on her usually passive face, "they're horrible."

Minato lifted a brow, "I'd imagine you being the matriarch of the Uchiha clan won't be very fun."

"Hn," Mikoto snorted with a grim smile, "I'll race you to the training grounds," she suggested in an obvious ploy to cheer him up.

"I'll get there before you do," Minato replied back with calmly, certain. Even if Jiraiya had only been their teacher for a week and a half, it was already showing in his speed, which had only increased phenomenally. Even now, Jiraiya had each given them a jutsu to learn the day they first refused to let them see Kushina but it was coming so easily to him, that he had almost grown bored with it despite how useful it was. The Body-Flicker technique, he knew, would be something to rely on but having already mastered it, lost the novelty of having gotten to learn something new.

Maybe it was because Kushina wasn't there to get excited with him.

Nevertheless, he used the very jutsu as he sped away from Mikoto, who seemed to squawk in disbelief.

"Cheater! I'm not as good as you are!"

He couldn't help but smirk. It was kind of an ego boost when you were better at something compared to an _Uchiha_, especially since he'd only ever been that pitiful orphan boy, which was something that had intrigued him about his red-headed crush. She didn't hop around societal norms, she didn't care about such things, remarking from time to time that they were silly. It was like when she suggested they drop honorifics, blatantly disregarding what was considered proper as she pulled, or _sucked_ the people around her into the bubble she'd created. Over time, it got increasingly hard not to humor her, even when she had pranked their classmates with increasing vigor. Like that time she had put a sort of sticky substance in a seal, placing it in some kid's bag. Later, they had watched as he had opened the scroll, only to be hit in the face with the green gunk. Kushina's reaction?

She had laughed so hard to the very point that she was struggling to breathe as she yelled continuously, "You just got _slimed! Slimed!_" Which had only made her cackle even more. He didn't even know what the statement meant. It had been as if she had spoken in an entirely different language but whatever made her happy, made him happy.

As he sped toward the training grounds, bouncing and hopping from roof top to roof top, he finally arrived to his destination. He was there first as he had known he would be. Was it arrogant to think that way? He didn't think so, being as he wasn't good at plenty of things. He'd always thought that humility was useless. If you were able to do something, then say you can. If you can't, then let it be known. He knew that Mikoto was better at genjutsu than he was, better than most people of her clan, which was certainly saying something. She was particularly ruthless, even on the training field. He liked that about Mikoto.

"So how are you doing on the Body-Flicker?" Jiraiya's voice called out to him from at the top of a tree, perking up Minato's mood exponentially.

"I've mastered it," Minato replied with a clear voice and calm expression. He wasn't joking either. Was it weird that some things came easier to him than most? It was something that Kushina complained about often, accusing him of using his genius status to get the better of her in fuinjutsu. But to him, she was still far above him in the way that she had gotten to the point in her studies of actually _creating_ a new technique, something she had been diligently secretive about even as she whined about not having the talent to do what she wanted. Despite that, he knew that he would be seeing her creation soon, if he were to ever _see_ her, that is.

It was surprising how bitter he was about this.

Jiraiya laughed as he hopped down to the ground, "As expected of my brightest student."

Minato couldn't resist the flush that rose from the praise. He was lying to himself when he thought he didn't need kind words like that. He didn't even want to think that this and to do with him not having any parents. He'd never met them so how could he know what it felt like? Jiraiya, at this point, felt pretty darn close which was something he was unsure of. His teacher was too weird to be a dad, or a father figure, and yet they'd been going out to Ichiraku for dinner the past three nights and he'd come to admire his teacher greatly. His hobbies could easily be over looked if Minato just pointedly looked _away_.

"I suppose I'll teach you something harder...Let's see, the last one was a D-rank," Jiraiya faded in thought, "I'm going to teach you another D-rank, but if you can master it by the end of this week, I'll teach you a C-rank. How about it?"

Minato felt his spirits rise, "Yes, Jiraiya-sensei!"

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

"**Why don't you leave**?" Kurama asked, speaking up as his voice echoed in the deep abyss, "**We both aren't sealed in here**."

"No, we both are not," was all I replied with as I came to tightened my hold on my legs. I couldn't go back. I just couldn't.

There was silence at first and then I abruptly stood up, turning with my best smile as I faced Kurama head on. He was perfectly huge, I could tell, and that cage couldn't be _too_ comfortable.

With a blink of my eyes, the place we were in changed drastically. As I had suspected, this place was my mind-scape, and the only place I could contact Kurama in this fashion. I looked to him first, watching as he eyed me warily. Not one to mind things in this state of mind, I stretched, grinning from ear to ear as a breeze was suddenly afloat. I breathed it in, closing my eyes before opening them to study where I had taken us to.

As I had thought, we were in Uzushio. I could recognize that sea breeze anywhere even if it was just fake. I looked to Kurama, curiously, "Do you like what I've done with the place? The seal limits what I can do so it doesn't change your physical reality. But I figured this was the least I could do."

"**I don't accept charity or pity.**"

I snorted, "As if I'd do it for you."

"**Then why**?"

"Well, I figure I'll be staying here for a while. Let's have some fun, roomie!"

After that, days (or what I could assume was the passing of time) could pass by in utter silence, neither of us saying a thing as I shifted things in the dimension we were in. Kurama didn't talk much. Not that I wanted to talk to him anyway, he was just too grumpy and what his life had been made me sad. Besides, I was having too much fun by myself in my own imaginary world. I was fishing at the moment, waiting for the rod I had conjured up to catch on something. When nothing happened, however, I grew impatient and imagined up some fish that got caught by my hook.

Just like I wanted it to do, the fish fought roughly and I even had to put my entire body's strength into my tug as I ripped it from the lake. The fish flew in the air for a quick second before come to dangling from my hook. I laughed, please with how things had turned out.

It wasn't real, I know, but I wasn't real either. Nothing was real in this world and that's why I liked it so much. A fantastic escape from the horrors of what was actually real, bizarrely enough.

"Ah, Kurama, look! I got a big fish just for you!" I yelled to him, watching as his giant form relaxed in clearing of the forest. No clearing in Uzushio had been as big as him so I did have to bend the facts of what my home had looked like just a tad bit.

"**Good, you eat that and let me eat you after**."

I wrinkled my nose, "You know what Kurama, you're just gross. Now, tell me honestly, what do you want to eat?"

Kurama just looked at me, as if trying to decipher if I was being serious. After a moment of pause, he cocked his head and said, "**You know we don't require sustenance in here**."

"So?" I asked, pouting, "It's all about the taste, not the _why_ we eat it."

"**If it'll get you to stop yipping at me, then I'd like some...ramen**."

"Ramen?" I asked, surprised, "That's hardly healthy."

"**Did I stutter?**" Kurama looked down his nose at me, "**It doesn't matter if its nutritious or not**."

"I know! I know!" I easily laughed, grinning at how literally he took me, "I'm just playing with you. Here ya go!" I shouted to him and with a flick of my wrist I conjured a giant bowl of ramen and made the clearing of the forest even bigger to fit it in. His cage was still there, invisible to both of our eyes even as his body was crouched, unable to stand up. That couldn't be too comfortable which is something I intended change if I could figure out how to mess with the seal from inside here. I mean, sure, I didn't exactly _like_ Kurama right now, but it wasn't as if his hatred and anger wasn't unfounded. I could understand with all too real of a passion. Neither of us wanted to be here, him in my body and I in Kushina's.

Kurama slurped up the noodles, which was weird to watch with his snout. His teeth looked particularly razor-sharp from my vantage point, welling up an instinctual feeling of fear - which I quickly smashed away. In my past life, I had raised big dogs, dogs that weighed at one-eighty pounds and dogs that were extremely playful. I winced thinking back to how much I have _loved_ them, even when they had chewed up the wires I needed for my technology. I didn't even mind when the rough housing got to the point of my legs and arms being scratched up and bitten. I gazed up at Kurama with wide eyes. Could he...? Maybe he would let me pet him.

After a moment of my intense desire, assessing what looked like rough, coarse fur. I wanted to run my fingers through it.

"**What?**" Kurama asked in a snapping tone.

Inner dilemma time. To pet or not to pet. To ask or not to ask.

"Let me pet you!" I demanded, alarming even myself as my eyes widened after realizing what I had just said, "I mean-!"

"**Insolent brat!**" Kurama's voice raised as he glared at me. I shrunk away, ducking to hide behind a tree.

"I'm sorry!" I wailed, "I didn't mean to ask you that way!"

He didn't reply, making me curse myself with vigor. Dreams of getting to ride a gigantic fox demon? Failed.

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Ichigo<em>

The clan heir looked up from his work on the nearly finished seal, "What is it, Yuka?"

She'd been rather restless, fidgeting uncomfortably so, ever since they'd found her outside Kushina's hospital room. She looked almost as if she wanted to cry, as if something horrible had happened just moments before but before they could ask, she had quickly suggested dinner out, a smile placed perfectly on her face. But her purple orbs had been sad, as they were right then as Ichigo met her gaze.

"Am I a bad person...?" Yuka asked, coming to sit in front of him with an open expression. Usually she was so perfectly poised, ringing true to the fact that her father was the clan head of her family. Ichigo had known her to be able to do horrible things on their mission and only be slightly affected afterwards. Or at least that's what everyone else saw. Ichigo was an unusually perceptive boy, even when he was small and trying to figure out the conundrum that was his cousin Kushina. However, even she had grown easy to read and hadn't changed much since she was five. Physically she was cuter than before, her eyes brighter than the last time he'd seen her, but still like an open book. Most couldn't see it, but all of her emotions were told through her hands and eyes. She had dangerously expressive eyes.

Yuka was much the same, but different in the way that she hid behind a cold facade, opposed to Kushina's cheerful one.

Ichigo frowned, "No. You are a very kind girl."

He wasn't lying. He had known Yuka to be the one to fed the war orphans they'd come across, going hungry if it meant saving the life of another. Yet even those actions brought up problems. She'd wondered aloud, during one of her more weakened moments, that she didn't know if it was right to keep someone alive in such a horrible world, to be safe for a day but lost the next. It was something everyone from Uzushio had learned during the invasion. Safety was but an illusion, and they would need to be stronger in order to protect their clansmen properly.

At his words, she looked even more conflicted, brows furrowing and her eyes pinched. She was holding back tears, "I've said some mean things. Am I a mean person?"

"No. You are a very nice girl," Ichigo replied with, frowning, "What's this about?"

Yuka bit her lip before sighing, her long locks of violet hair coming to frame her face almost attractively, "Is your cousin a nice, kind girl?"

This only confused Ichigo more, "Yes, she is. Yuka...did you say something to Kushina?"

She just sighed again before standing up to leave, "I'll see you later, Ichigo."

At that, he couldn't help but notice how absolutely beautiful she had become as she left the room, the scent of something sweet lingering slightly in the air as he went back to his work. It was an easy thing to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Mikoto<em>

This was getting tiring very, very _fast_. She couldn't even count on her fingers or toes how many stupid things that the Daimyo's wife was saying. It was a headache, one she hid behind a forced smile. Even Minato, the best one around impossible clients, was suffering the effects from being around her, his grin slipping every so often as she pinched his cheeks, which would make Shikou and Mikoto snicker to themselves as discreetly as possible. They didn't want the woman's attention on them anymore than the blond boy did.

Minato was their obvious sacrifice for this double mission. It was something that Jiraiya had set up when he debriefed them on the mission and the code of conduct they would be following. It was a simple mission on the outside, complicated by their client's status and title, but there was another layer that was suited more to their abilities. They were to gain information the Hokage suspected was being kept from Konoha, something about the enemy's movements. It was suspected that the Daimyo had told her, being that they were said to be desperately in love (_with money_, Mikoto couldn't help but think) and thus she should at least know _something_.

But she had proven to be useless during the entire day and night they'd spent in her company. She was either not trusted enough with the information, or astonishingly resistant to the charms of Minato and Jiraiya combined. Which were powerful indeed, from Minato's cute, somewhat angelic appearance, and Jiraiya's sweet words and powerful aura. For anyone who couldn't see through it, it was deadly to all who were susceptible.

_Maybe the Daimyo is clean_, Mikoto wondered but backtracked on that thought. The Hokage wouldn't authorize such a mission unless he had reason to suspect something. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time and resources. Whatever the case, she knew her place well enough that she wouldn't speak up about it. Mikoto just needed to get out of it alive, and that's all she really cared about.

As if on the cue of her thoughts, a band of Amegakure-nin appeared, their lower faces covered by masks but their eyes clear to see. Mikoto body-flickered to her client's side, a grimly set frown coloring her features as she brought a protective kunai up defensively. If worst came to worst, she had her clan's renowned fire release jutsu under her sleeve.

Shikou and Minato hopped forward to greet their new guests and Mikoto glanced around wildly to see where Jiraiya had gone. He was nowhere to be seen. Crap, he must have gone to intercept a different group of shinobi.

Someone was obnoxiously screaming into her ears by now and she turned to glare at the Daimyo's wife before biting out, "Shut. Up." Yeah, she would be scolded for that later, but for now, it was fighting time.

The three Ame-nin looked to be about chuunin level, but it wasn't a secret that Ame was so ransacked by war, that it was hard to tell rank, being that their system was too mucked up to be clear about anything.

"Watch out!" Mikoto yelled as Minato nearly tripped over a thin wire. Her hands were forming hand seals by now, having thrown her kunai at one of the enemies, only for him to disapear in a poof of smoke, "Get out of the way boys!" She ordered them and watched as they complied as she yelled out, "Fire Release: Great Fireball!" Before her, fire was blowing out of her mouth like an endless stream of concentrated chakra in a flashing, dangerously hot form. By the screams that erupted, she knew she'd done her job.

Most thought it was funny to yell out the attack before doing it, but it was forgotten _why_ they did it.

It was respect for their opponent, for them to take that technique's name to the grave with them if it was the very thing to do them in. Mikoto couldn't ever forget that, however, being as her father had trained it into her from a very young age.

"Ah!" A yelp was wrangled out of her as someone snuck up behind her, promptly cutting off her jutsu.

"Mikoto!" Minato's voice called out before she spun to roundhouse kick her assaulter, as she shoved them aside. The groan that sprung up made her feel oddly proud of herself but that was before she saw Minato get taken down by another goon.

His blue eyes looked so oddly confused as he struggled to get away as his attacker brought a kunai to his throat. Her eyes widened as she ran to her friend's rescue, but before she could, there was the distant ringing of a _bomb_ going off just a little bit away from them.

"No!" She roared, watching in complete _horror_ as her blond friend was consumed in- Jiraiya was there, body-flickering to and away from the brunt of the explosion, carrying a semi-conscious Minato. With a fury she'd never felt before, her gaze spun to the remaining enemy and that's when she felt the changing shift in her eyes.

She smiled. This shinobi would know pain. _Real_ pain.

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

"I'm sorry!" I continued to wail, "I take it back, I take everything back! Just don't ignore me!"

Kurama sighed, his red eyes shifting to my direction in utter annoyance.

"**You're giving me a headache**," _and this isn't helping your case,_ was left unsaid and I nearly sobbed with hysterics.

I was okay in mutual silence, but to be _ignored_ was the very worst thing to happen right now when I was all alone with nothing by me, myself, and I to entertain myself.

"I'm sorry!" There were tears in my eyes by then, which made the whole situation slightly theatrical.

Kurama groaned, "**I'll let you touch my tail if you agree to shut up**."

I perked up, amazed by the turn of events as I wiped my tears away, "I agree, I agree!"

With a flick of his tail, the tip of it landed just a bit through the bars of the cage, seeming to bounce by some unseen force before it came to its destination. I hopped forward, hands outstretched.

In a blink of an eye, his large face was there, his heavy breath cascading to pool over my face as he grunted out, "**Only a touch, no petting, rubbing, or anything of the sort. I'll **_**eat**_** you if you try anything else**."

Stunned, I nodded, excitement slightly wilting. Nevertheless, when my hands reached to touch him, the sudden influx of tears surprised even me.

"**Why are you crying **_**now**_?" Kurama was exasperated as I took a step back, sliding to my butt, bringing my knees up to my chest once again.

"Why are you so soft!?" I howled out in a burst of random, misdirected anger, "Grr."

"**Why are you so stupid**?"

"Why are you so mean? Why are you so grumpy? Why do you hate me already when I had as much choice in this situation than you did? Why am _I _ the Jinchuuriki instead of someone else? Why do I know these things? I wish I didn't remember, you know? I wish I knew nothing else but this life so I could just _get_ over it," the tears were real by this point, as I ranted out my frustrations, "Why?"

Kurama was quiet then before he grunted, "**That's something you must answer yourself**."

I blinked by the unexpected, but not unwelcome advice. I swallowed, "Did...Did the Sage tell you that?"

"**How did...? Just calm down, Kushina**."

I gaped, "You used my name, Kurama!"

"**You know...? Tch, you're an interesting host, I have to admit**." Somehow, he made it sound like an insult.

"Hmph," I turned my face away, probably to just hide the pleased smile I had. Even when I tried to change it, it stayed as I thought of how I was supposed to answer something so confusing. It wasn't so easy had he'd put the advice, so I looked into my mother's memories, the deeper ones even I had ignored. None of them were very interesting, that is, until I stumbled upon one thing in particular.

"_I hate you!" Satsuki spat as she left a red-faced man, looking awfully much like the clan head. My mother had been fuming as she slid open the door and stepping out, attempting to relax as she faced Kushiro, "That man is insatiable with his hunger for power, I'm telling you. Tch, he's the worst!"_

"_His power is what's presently keeping our village safe," My father reminded her, coming to cup her chin in his palms._

"_He's the worst. Why did...he taught me... He's scarred me, Kushiro-kun, do you understand? My arms will always be...marked."_

Flesh seals. That's right.

I could... I could seal away my memories, I knew a flesh seal to do it.

I looked to Kurama in confusion. Should I do it? Kurama would suspect something if I suddenly started treating him differently. What's worse is that...I was sort of hoping to get his help in the whole That Day issue. Maybe I shouldn't do it, just continue on like this. I immediately shook my head at the thought. Something had to change or else I couldn't go on.

I came to gnaw on my lip as I thought things through.

Then, when that proved unsatisfactory, I found myself groaning as I laid myself on my back.

Maybe if I let my mind wander...

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Minato<em>

_Woah, red-eyes_, was his first thought as he looked at his friend with blurry eyes. Mikoto looked as if any moment now, she would just cry, which was completely unlike her. Mikoto, even when the going was tough, she persevered and fought hard. She could also pack a punch behind that feminine exterior but that wasn't as noteworthy compared to her eyes.

"You have the sharingan now?" He asked, his voice rough and unused. He coughed, blinking as his mind refused to jump-start.

"You idiot," Mikoto snapped, "Worry about yourself for once."

"What happened though?" Minato couldn't help as he realized he was a gurney. He blinked, attempting to sit up, only to lay right back down. That was not a rush of dizziness he wanted to feel again. Still, even as he tried, he could only bring up a distant foggy memory what happened. There were Ame-nin and then... What happened again?

Impatiently, Mikoto filled him in with short, irritable sentences and then huffed again before crossing her arms, "Honestly, why do I have to care about such troublesome people?"

Minato laughed, still feeling completely out of sorts, "Because you love us."

"Tch," Mikoto turned away from him, "just hurry up and get well. I have to go." Minato frowned. Her voice had been shaking.

Before he got the chance to ask _why_, Mikoto left the room in a flourish with a bounce to her straight black hair.

Suddenly, everything in his life felt empty at that moment. He scowled.

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Mikoto<em>

She wanted to hit something.

But, of course, she had to hold back, because that's all the Uchiha clan ever did. Repressed, grieving, hateful souls, the lot of them were. Herself included.

"I'm home!" Mikoto called into the dark abyss of her home as she slid off her shoes, only to slip on her other ones.

"Oh good, we've just gotten the news," Masuna, in all her shinning glory, grinned at her daughter, "We're assembling a meeting tomorrow to discuss the wedding."

Mikoto nearly choked as she blinked, "W-Wedding?" No, no way. She's only _ten_.

"It's just future planning. It's been decided."

"What's been decided?" She sputtered out, eyes still wide.

"Well, you've come of age now that you've gained your eyes. There really isn't any reason to wait aside from your age and the village's laws. So the clan elders have made the choice that when you turn thirteen, you will be wedded to Fugaku-kun the very same day."

Of course. Of _course._ Perfect, absolutely _perfect_.

First, her friends, her only form of support, are stuck in the hospital, one unreachable and the other doped up on drugs and now there was _this_. Oh she wanted to punch someone alright. And if Mikoto had any say in the matter, it would be Fugaku's foul mug.

She clenched her fists but gave her mother a sweet smile, "Where can I find my husband-to-be?"

Masuna blinked before pointing just past the hall to kitchen, "He's with your father, training."

She twitched but nodded quietly as she moved to go _greet_ him. When she came to the door, she slid it open and nearly spasmed with anger when she saw that both of them had lit most of the surrounding trees on fire. Didn't they _know_ not to mess with fire releases this close to a house. She groaned. She was surrounded by self-proclaimed genius who were, in fact, idiots. Everyone. An idiot.

"Otou-san!" Mikoto yelled, nearly _boiling_ with her frustrations, "Can I have a private moment with Fugaku-san?" It almost made her sick to actually use an honorific with his name. He deserved no such formalities.

"Well, of course," Isamu, her father, said as he gave a stern look to Fugaku before passing her by to enter the house.

She body-flickered to Fugaku before pulling a tightly fisted hand to his face. This time, with a trick Kushina had taught her, she actually charged her arms with chakra. He was sent flying in the air as Mikoto panted. She was just...boxed up! Everything that made her, _her_, was being taken away. She would have to be docile, she would have to birth children, she would have to give up a career. All that, she had known from the very start. But it was hard.

Without her realizing it, she had began to cry.

Tears fell freely from her face as she silently bent forward.

Why was it so hard to do it when everything she had done prepared her for this?

Today, she had made her first kill, today, she had gained her dojutsu, today, she had lost her freedom. It was something so _painful_, so heartrendingly agonizing... To give up your will for the betterment of others, to lose your dreams and desires and wants for the future, all of that. She didn't want to! She didn't want to give up her freedom!

She wanted to stay as Mikoto, the friend of Kushina and Minato. The student of one of the Legendary Sannin, and the girl who could kick ass.

"No!" She yelled at anyone who would listen as she stood straight up, "No!" Her eyes fell upon a shocked Fugaku, who had scrambled to his feet, "I'm not... I can't be caged! I won't be! I've just gotten started, I can't lose," she gasped for air, realizing that she was losing control over herself. She didn't care enough to stop it. Mikoto felt something burning well up within her and she knew the only way to get it out would be to...scream.

And so she did.

Then, Fugaku was there, cupping her chin, his eyes worried yet stern, "Mikoto, listen to my voice."

She shook her head. She didn't _want_ to listen anymore. She had done far more than enough of that.

Yet his voice was soft and very, very distracting.

"It's going to be okay, I won't do that to you. I understand, Mikoto, I understand," Fugaku was saying, which only confused her more.

"How?" She asked him softly, gazing at him with tearful eyes. Was it just her, or was _he_ crying too? She blinked her own away, gasping softly because he was _too_ close and she just couldn't breathe anymore.

"I don't want this anymore than you do," Fugaku was saying, making her distantly realize that neither of them was standing, having collapsed to their knees, "I still have many, many things I want to do but I've already decided on something. Do you want to know what that is?"

Mikoto could only nod as her body began to calm down, her eyes focusing on his.

"I've decided to do them with _you_, because that's the only way to sate the elders and my father. Do you understand?"

"Okay," she whispered, suddenly wiped out of energy, "Okay," she repeated.

"Alright."

There was a moment of silence before Mikoto pulled away with a scowl, "This doesn't mean I like you... I'll do everything to make this marriage work but... I am not leaving Kushina, and... I'm going to make jounin before we have any children."

Fugaku laughed, he _actually_ laughed. Which might had enraged Mikoto further if she weren't so tired.

"Alright."

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p><em>Kushina<em>

I know.

"Kurama," my voice was tiny as our surroundings changed, this time to a blank area of nothing but blinding white. It made the blood red of my hair and his eyes stand out against it. I rolled over on my side to gaze up at him, giving him a pained smile.

"**What have you decided?**" He sounded exasperated, as if he'd been waiting a long time for something.

"I'm going to do something to our seal. It's going to change things around here to let you be more comfortable."

He was silent at that, eyes narrowing to observe me. With a tiny sigh, I sat up before making my way to my feet, long red hair cascading over my shoulders as I did so.

I went on, "I'm going to forget somethings with this seal, so I may treat you differently than I do now, but I want you to know something very special." I leaned toward him with a sincere smile, eyes bright with a calmness I had never felt before now.

"**What?**"

"I love you, Kurama," I nodded to myself as I continued, "You're grumpy and cynical and you refer to yourself as an old man but all those things make you, you."

"**Brat! You do not know me!**" Kurama roared in his invisible cage, his body rising against the bars, his tail swishing dangerously. He glared at me with fury, like molten lava.

I just laughed, "I do know you. I've known you for a long, long time but after this seal, I'll only know what has happened between us recently. I hope its enough so I'm not afraid of you but know that even then, I love you."

He said nothing, body still tensed.

"There's a lock to this seal that will be broken with time and I'll see you again someday but for now, I'm not ready." I spoke softly, coming to stand in front of the very thing keeping the Kyuubi sealed within my body. With a flick of my wrist, it came off, but not before my chains snaked within around Kurama's body. He resisted as the invisible cage flashed before disintegrating.

"**Free me! You insolent brat!**" He desperately struggled but my chains only tightened my hold on him as I brought my hand to my chest, where my mother's flesh seal lay. I hoped she understood why I had to do this, otherwise, I would just have to let her see from where ever she was.

"You have to be patient, Kurama, but I will be back and soon, you'll even get to see your siblings again. Perhaps, even the Sage himself."

I pulsed chakra into my palm before bringing it to my stomach. I just had to picture it, it was that easy. Everything fell to white noise as the seal drew itself onto my skin, quickly taking permanent place on my skin. Unlike usual seals for bijuu, where there weren't visible in normal day to day life, this one would be a waking reminder, every single day after the fact. I hoped it would be enough.

"Goodbye."

* * *

><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣**

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I found myself only slightly disoriented before sitting up. My chest felt heavy, like a child was sitting on it, and I wanted food. I almost felt tempted to simply jump out of bed to get food but I knew I was still in the hospital. I sat up, swallowing thickly as I surveyed my area. I was in a private room and I knew that just outside, there were ANBU members keeping an eye on me.<p>

"Hello?" I called with a scratchy voice. Somehow, I felt more scared when a man with a fox's mask came in. I flinched before speaking up again, uncertainly, "Can you get someone? Uh, I mean, can you get Tsunade-nee-san?"

He nodded before quickly exiting the room.

I blinked, knowing that could have gone better but my head was in an abnormal pain. I touched my forehead, knowing that _something_ was different but I couldn't tell what was. There was something gone. Gasping, I looked at my stomach, rolling up the hospital issued gown, still wearing the spandex shorts I had come in with. Yet, I sucked in another breath. This was _wrong_. Why was such seal on my body?

What had Jiraiya _done_?

Wait, no, there was something... I could remember that I was standing in front of a _demon_ that I had called Kurama. How I wasn't wetting myself every time he made a move was beyond me and I even _touched_ him. Behind it had been a raw sense of longing but I hadn't been crying because of my fear. No, something was wrong with my head because I just _couldn't_ remember.

I assessed the seal.

It was a flesh seal, but it wasn't just any seal. It was combined, which was highly dangerous to do. When you joined seals, you risked creating an imbalance, or losing the effects of one side of it. What had brought me to do such a thing, even after my mother had told me not to do them?

I flinched at the thoughts before turning back to see exactly what things I was trying to do.

I blinked. I had sealed memories within me, with a lock of sorts. It could be undone but I didn't even know _how_ I could do it. Scrutinizing it for more details I realized that I had not only combined a lock seal, a memory seal, but a containment seal as well. How I had even done it was beyond me. This thing was the only thing keeping Kurama at bay within me and it was _permanent_.

"Stupid!" I cursed to myself. Now, if I die, the Kyuubi would only go _with me_. There was no way that I could think of to change it with making matters worse. If I added anything more it could disrupt the precariously hanging balance.

"Good morning, Kushina," Tsunade's voice came in and I looked up before jumping out of bed, IV drips hanging from my arms and the monitor continued to beep.

"I've done a terrible thing," I whispered, the feeling of horror dawning on me, "Someone get Jiraiya."

"Go get him," Tsunade snapped to the ANBU members outside, "He's with his student in room 245."

"Student? Is someone hurt? How are Mikoto and Minato?" I was tempted to move forward but by way of the tubes sticking out of me, that was going to be rather difficult.

With pinched eyes, Tsunade ushered me back to bed, "Don't worry about that. Can you tell me what you did?"

"I did something terrible," I repeated from earlier, "I've done something really, really bad."

"What's going on?" Jiraiya's voice interjected as he came forth. When his eyes rested on my abdomen, he quickly inhaled, "What did you do? Why is something like _that_ on you?"

"Like what?" Tsunade was lost.

"It's a memory, lock, and containment seal," I informed him, eyes welling up with tears, "Permanent seals. They're _permanent_."

Jiraiya rubbed a meaty hand down his face, "I can see that, I can really see that. What sort of idiot...!? Does the lock work for both of the other seals?"

I looked down, eyes wide as I nodded, "Does this mean...?"

"Yes, this can be changed, Kushina, we just have to find the way to get it _un_locked. Do you know anything else?"

"The memory seal," I whispered before clenching my fists, "I don't know what's gone and whats still here. I don't remember what's supposed to break it."

Jiraiya groaned before snapping his fingers, "Maybe it'll come back with time! We just have to wait and hope you don't die before that happens."

I blanched.

"But, damn," The Toad Sage leaned forward, studying the seal, "This is some fine work. Everything balances out, amazingly enough. You must have an affinity with flesh seals."

"No," I bit out, troubled, "Kaa-san would be so angry... She didn't like flesh seals very much. She thought they should be forbidden."

Jiraiya just chuckled, "Still, this is the work of a genius."

I didn't feel like one. In fact, I felt very, very stupid.

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><p><strong>Red Beast - <strong>**赤い野獣 ****- End**

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><p>AN: My writing is controversial, it seems.

So with that, I'm going on a bit of a one month (which may extend to two) hiatus to take a breather from this story, or at least from posting it. During this time, I'll be editing the chapters prior to this one, now that I've gotten most of the major events out of the way. Hopefully I'll even be able to pre-write things so that I can have a more steady flow of chapters coming in.

You can now find the timeline I'm using for this story and my new one called Monopoly on my page (bio).


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